Courtney Shropshire

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Courtney Shropshire (July 10, 1877 – 1965) was an American doctor who founded Civitan International. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and later lived in Mississippi and Tennessee, where a local doctor inspired him to study medicine. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Nashville in 1900 and practiced medicine in several small towns before moving to Birmingham, Alabama in 1903. He did post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic and served as the U.S. Public Health Service representative for Birmingham and as president of the Jefferson County Medical Society.

In 1917, while part of a Rotary club, Shropshire and others decided they could do more to help people directly. They started the Civitan Club on March 17, 1917, with 37 charter members. Shropshire served as president for two terms as the club grew to about 200 members. He dreamed of an international network of Civitan clubs, and in 1920 the International Association of Civitan Clubs was formed, later known as Civitan International. Shropshire was elected the first international president and served two terms. He continued to promote Civitan and remained active until his death in 1965.