In Boston, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first Black woman to earn a doctor of medicine degree. Other notable "firsts" soon follow, though it will take decades until Black graduates can continue their training in Boston-area hospitals.
Dr. Crumpler graduates from the New England Female Medical College as the first African American female with a formal doctor of medicine degree. Later in her career she becomes one of the first Black published authors of a medical book. Dr. Crumpler and other leaders pave the way for future generations.
In 1867, Robert Tanner Freeman graduates from Harvard and becomes the first Black person with a degree in dentistry from an American school. In 1879, Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates from the New England Hospital for Women and Children (today, Dimock Community Health Center) and becomes the first professionally licensed Black nurse. In 1912, Dr. William Hinton, a Black bacteriologist who created the standard test for syphilis, graduates cum laude from Harvard but isn't able to get a residency position due to his race; He spends his career contributing to public health through his research on syphilis, teaching medical students at Harvard, working in state laboratories, and creating opportunities for women in science.
