Dr. Michael Parlato

MICHAEL PARTLATO, MD
(1885–1980)
ITALIAN AMERICAN
1904 DHS GRAD
YALE MED SCHOOL GRAD
FOUNDED OWN
PRIVATE HOSPITAL
LATER
SR. SURGEON GRIFFIN HOSPITAL

Dr. Michael Parlato (1885-1980), of Derby, was a trailblazing man of many “firsts”. Born in Derby, CT on Dec. 19, 1885, son of Antonio and Antoinette Parlato. His parents, who ran a fruit and confectionery shop on Elizabeth St, were the first Italian settlers in Derby in 1872. Dr. Parlato attended Derby public schools and was the first boy of Italian parentage to graduate from Derby High School, as a member of the Class of 1904.

He graduated in 1908 from Yale University Medical School. He was also the first Italian-American to graduate from Yale Medical School. He interned for two years at St. Raphael’s Hospital.

Dr. Parlato opened a private practice in Derby in 1910. He was an attending surgeon at Griffin Hospital until 1921 and participated in an 1912 experimental procedure to graft a rabbit bone in a boy’s shattered arm.

In 1921, he built and operated a private hospital at 270 Elizabeth Street, Derby. He closed the hospital in 1927, but maintained a private office at that location and was the senior surgeon at Griffin Hospital.

In 1935, he was Chairman for Derby’s Tercentenary Committee for celebrating the state of Connecticut’s 300th anniversary. He remained in active practice until 1965. In 1967, Dr. Parlato established an annual scholarship award for Derby High School graduates.

Dr. Parlato is remembered as a distinguished and beloved physician in the Valley.

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