Charles Lightfoot Roman was born in may 19,1889, in Port Elgin, ON. His dad, James William Roman was a fugitive slave, he soon made his way to Maryland, to Canada via the Underground Railroad. James William Roman married a woman named Anne Walker McGuinn, who was the daughter of runaway slaves. They lived in Williamsport Pennsylvania. Around 1870 they moved back to Canada where they settled on a farm in Burford, Ontario. Charles grew up selling brooms to the local cotton mill and the locals. His brother, on the other hand, was working at a mill at age 12. When his brother was 17 he suffered a leg injury well working at the mill. Charles Lightfoot Roman married a woman named Fannie, they later moved back to Port Elgin, where she soon gave birth to Charles Ferdinand Roman.  

He was the first black Canadian to graduate from McGill University’s faculty of medicine. He was recognized for his industrial medicine. Charles was one of the first black Canadian to have his service in the first world war and the first to have served with the Canadian General Hospital. He enlisted to be the first Canadian black person to sign up for the first world war. He stayed in France for a while and in July to mid-October he stayed in the hospital.