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Biography · Biography & Culture

Robert Rayford

1953–1969

United States

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Biography

Robert Lee Rayford (February 3, 1953 – May 15, 1969) sometimes identified as Robert R. due to his age, was an American teenager from St. Louis, Missouri whose chronic illness, which began in 1966 and ended with his death in 1969, are hypothesized to represent the earliest known case of HIV/AIDS in North America. Rayford's death was a mystery to his doctors, who could not account for his symptoms.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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