Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler

On March 9th, 1895, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler died.

She was the first African American woman to graduate with a medical degree in the U.S., doing so by completing training at the New England Female Medical College in 1860. She was able to do so in the face of discrimination on many fronts, directed against her race as well as her gender. Many medical schools at the time were not readily willing to admit women, let alone anyone of African American descent. Her medical school (NEFMC) was the first to train women M.D.s.

She graduated from medical school in 1864. She helped encourage fellow African Americans to go into the medical profession through her work. She was known to treat patients in her community regardless of their ability to afford such services.

Her most recognized written work was A Book of Medical Discourses, published in 1883. It featured a wide range of medical advice with a focus on treating illness in “infants and young children and women of childbearing age.”

Details obtained from review of the following article: https://www.nps.gov/people/dr-rebecca-lee-crumpler.htm

Digitized version of her book:
https://archive.org/details/67521160R.nlm.nih.gov/page/n7/mode/2up

Max

[Doctor with a mustache]