People, Locations, Episodes

Susan M. Steward, Teacher, and Doctor born

*The birth of Susan McKinney Steward in 1847, is celebrated on this date. A physician, she was one of the first Black women to earn a medical degree, and the first in New York State.

Mary Armstrong, Nurse born

*Mary Armstrong was born on June 7, 1847.  She was a Black slave and nurse. She was born Mary Adams into slavery near St. Louis, Missouri, on a plantation to Sam Adams and Silby. Mary, her baby sister, and her mother belonged to plantation owners William and Polly [Pauline] Cleveland. Mary’s father belonged to William Adams, a […]

George F. Grant, Dentist, and Inventor born

*George Grant was born on this date in 1847; he was a Black inventor and dentist, the first Black professor at Harvard. George Franklin Grant was born in Oswego, New York, to Phillis Pitt and Tudor Elanor Grant.  Grant entered the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in 1868 and graduated in 1870. He then took […]

Lewis Latimer, Poet, and Inventor born

*Lewis Howard Latimer was born on this date in 1848. He was an African American inventor and innovator in the electric lighting industry.

Caroline Still Anderson, Doctor and Abolitionist born.

*Caroline Still Anderson was born on this date in 1848. She was a Black doctor and abolitionist. Early life and education Caroline Still was born in Philadelphia and was the oldest daughter of four to Letitia and William Still. Both of her parents were leaders in the American abolitionist movement. Her father led the Philadelphia branch […]

Andrew J. Beard, Farmer, and Inventor born

*The birth of Andrew Beard in 1849 is celebrated on this date. He was a black farmer and inventor.

Sara Iredell Fleetwood, Nurse and Teacher born

*Sara Iredell Fleetwood’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1849. She was a Black nurse, clubwoman, and teacher. Sara Louise Iredell was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Elizabeth Susan (née Webb) and Geoffrey George Iredell. Her father was originally from Edenton, North Carolina, and was the son of an enslaved person who had […]

Joseph Lee, Inventor born

Joseph Lee’s birth in 1849 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American who invented machinery for processing food and became very prominent in the food industry.

Sarah Fraser, Doctor born

*On this date in 1850, Sarah L. Fraser was born. She was one of the first Black woman doctors in America.

The Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania is Founded

*The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) founding is celebrated on this date in 1850.  This was the second medical institution established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree and one of the earliest colleges a Black woman could earn a medical degree. The New England Female Medical College had been established […]

The New England Female Medical College is Incorporated

*On this date, in 1850, the New England Female Medical College (NEFMC) was incorporated.  This was one of the earliest colleges that assisted Black women in earning a medical degree.  Originally Boston Female Medical College was founded in 1848 by Samuel Gregory and was the first school to train women in medicine.  The American Medical […]

Edward B. Ramsey, Doctor born

*Edward Burrell Ramsey was born on this date in 1852. He was a Black doctor.  A native of Hogansville, Georgia, he was the son of Ed and Frances Ramsey.  His father was a mulatto man and a wealthy landowner in Troup County, where Hogansville is located.   Ramsey was the second of eight sons and the […]

Dr. Robert Boyd, Scholar, and Doctor born

Robert Fulton Boyd was born on this date in 1855. He was an African American educator and doctor.

He was born in Giles County, Tennessee, the son of Maria Coffey and Edward Boyd. He was raised on a farm and in 1866, his mother brought him to Nashville to live with Paul Eve, a surgeon with an international reputation. During his stay with Dr. Eve, he enrolled in night classes at Fisk University and dreamed of becoming a physician. In 1872, he hired himself to General James H. Hickman, a real estate agent. Boyd worked half the day and attended school the other half, receiving no wages.

Nathan Mossell, Physician born

The birth of Nathan Mossell in 1856 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black physician born in Canada.

Nathan Francis Mossell had shown great academic promise at Lincoln University, where he was the winner of the Bradley Medal in Natural Science. Lincoln awarded Mossell its Bachelor of Arts degree in 1879. He received the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1882. At Penn he took second honors in his class. After graduation he was trained by Dr. D. Hayes Agnew in the Out-Patient Surgical Clinic of the University Hospital.

Daniel Hale Williams, Surgeon born

Daniel Hale Williams was born on this date in 1858. He was an African American physician and surgical pioneer who performed the first successful open-heart surgery

Born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Williams worked his way through Janesville Classical Academy as a barber and bass violinist. In 1893, he received a medical degree from Chicago Medical College, now part of Northwestern University. While still a medical student, Williams founded Provident Hospital, the first Chicago hospital with Blacks on staff.