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Robert Rayford

American teenager who died in 1969, thought to be the first death from AIDS in North America

  • Fame51.1
  • Momentum0.0
  • Wikipedia10K
Lived 1953–1969, aged 16United States
United States flagUnited States
  • Wikipedia
    12 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1953–1969
    Aged 16
Summary
Updated 2026-06-21

Robert Lee Rayford, sometimes identified as Robert R. due to his age, was an American teenager from Missouri who some have theorized was the earliest confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in North America. This is based on evidence published in 1988 in which the authors claimed that medical evidence indicated that Rayford was "infected with a virus closely related or identical to human immunodeficiency virus type 1."

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Fame
Falling
51.1
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Historical11.0
Source confidence60.0
Completeness35.0
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