On this day, scientists publicly announced findings supporting the theory of Mitochondrial Eve, a woman who lived in Africa around 150,000 to 200,000... Continue →
On January 16, 1941, Dr. Charles Richard Drew, an African American physician and medical researcher, helped establish one of the first large-scale... Continue →
Jewel Plummer Cobb, a pioneering cancer research biologist and the first African American woman to serve as president in the California State... Continue →
Daniel Hale Williams, the pioneering African American surgeon who performed one of the first successful open-heart surgeries in the United States, is... Continue →
On January 22, 1949, Dr. James Gladden became the first African American to be certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. His... Continue →
On this day in 1891, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, one of the first African American surgeons in the United States, founded Provident Hospital in... Continue →
On February 2, 1915, biologist Ernest E. Just was awarded the first NAACP Spingarn Medal for his groundbreaking research in cell division and... Continue →
On February 12, 1939, Augustus Nathaniel Lushington passed away. He was the first African American to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.),... Continue →
On this day, a health study began in Tuskegee, Alabama, where over 400 African American men were part of a project to learn more about syphilis, a... Continue →
Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, a pioneering educator, sociologist, and civil rights advocate, was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Du... Continue →
On this day, Rebecca Lee (later Crumpler) graduated from the New England Female Medical College, becoming the first African American woman in the... Continue →
On this day, the United States Post Office issued a commemorative stamp honoring Dr. Percy Lavon Julian (1899–1975), a pioneering African American... Continue →
Dr. Charles R. Drew, a groundbreaking African American surgeon and medical researcher, died at age 45 in an automobile accident near Burlington,... Continue →
On April 18, 1976, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian passed away at age 76, leaving behind a remarkable scientific legacy. A pioneering African American... Continue →
On April 24, 1884, a group of African American physicians gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, to organize what would become the National Medical... Continue →
On May 4, 1891, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded Provident Hospital and Training School in Chicago, Illinois—the first interracial hospital in the... Continue →
On May 4, 1910, Booker T. Washington officially launched National Negro Health Week. Alarmed by the devastating impact of preventable diseases within... Continue →
On May 5, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Regina Benjamin to serve as U.S. Surgeon General. A Black woman from rural Alabama, Benjamin had... Continue →
On May 6, 1812, Martin Robison Delany was born free in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia). A visionary intellectual, physician, and one of... Continue →
John Stewart Rock, one of the first African Americans to be admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, died on May 6, 1872. Born free in New... Continue →
On May 7, 1885, Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American professionally trained nurse in the U.S., helped establish what would become the... Continue →
On May 8, 1871, Robert Tanner Freeman graduated from Harvard Dental School, becoming the first African American to earn a dental degree in the United... Continue →
On May 9, 1750, The South Carolina Gazette reported that an enslaved African man named Caesar, known for his expertise in herbal medicine, was... Continue →
By May 9, 1952, researchers had begun widely using cells from Henrietta Lacks—taken without her consent in 1951—to develop a vaccine for polio.... Continue →
On May 9, 1960, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Enovid, the first birth control pill. While often discussed in the context of broader... Continue →
Dr. Charles R. Drew, a medical pioneer who revolutionized blood storage and transfusion, died on May 10, 1950, in a car accident at the age of 45.... Continue →
On May 16, 1954, Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, the first African American psychiatrist and a pioneer in Alzheimer’s research, passed away. Born in... Continue →
On May 17, 1990, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder. While this moment is global in... Continue →
By May 19, 1970, the Black Panther Party’s network of free medical clinics had expanded significantly across cities like Oakland, Chicago, and... Continue →
On May 24, 1954, Dr. Peter Murray Marshall was installed as president of the New York County Medical Society, becoming the first African American to... Continue →
President Bill Clinton formally apologized to the survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, acknowledging the government\'s unethical treatment of... Continue →
On May 28, 1928, Dr. Halle Tanner Dillon became the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in Alabama. Born into the prominent... Continue →
Though not a Black figure, the assassination of Dr. George Tiller on May 31, 2009, reignited debates around reproductive justice—a movement deeply... Continue →
On June 3, 1904, Charles Richard Drew was born in Washington, D.C. A medical trailblazer, Drew revolutionized the field of blood plasma preservation... Continue →
Born June 10, 1910, in Charleston, South Carolina, Dr. Robert Furchgott would go on to share the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998 for... Continue →
On this day in 1952, Dr. Harold D. West is named President of Meharry Medical College
On June 17, 1940, Dr. Charles R. Drew, an African American physician and blood transfusion pioneer, was appointed the first director of the American... Continue →
On June 23, 2001, Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt published The Bond, a memoir detailing their journey from inner-city Newark to... Continue →
On this date in 2001, Robert Tools became the first person to receive the AbioCor, a self-contained artificial heart, at Jewish Hospital in... Continue →
On this date in 1904, Dr. Charles Drew, born in Washington, D.C., made groundbreaking contributions to the field of medicine. He attended McGill... Continue →
On this date in 1943, Faye Wattleton was born. She is a notable activist, nurse, and the first African American president of Planned Parenthood.... Continue →
On this date in 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a pioneering African American surgeon, performed the first successful open-heart surgeries. James... Continue →
On July 19, 1913, the Tri-State Dental Association was formed as a professional organization for African American dentists in the U.S. It served as... Continue →
Louis Tompkins Wright, born on July 23, 1924, was a prominent physician and one of the first African American physicians to make significant... Continue →
Kenneth Bancroft Clark was born on July 24, 1914, and he went on to become a pioneering African American psychologist. Clark is best known for his... Continue →
On July 25, 1972, the U.S. government admitted to the existence of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a medical study that began in 1932. In this... Continue →
On August 1, 1993, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee made history by becoming the first Black woman to serve as the dean of a U.S. medical school when she assumed... Continue →
On August 1, 1879, Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first African American woman to graduate from a nursing program in the United States. She completed... Continue →
On August 1, 1869, Augustus Nathaniel Lushington made history as the first African American to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree.... Continue →
On August 2, 1966, the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School was chartered in Los Angeles. It was later renamed Charles R. Drew University of... Continue →
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a pioneering African American surgeon, passed away on August 4, 1931. He is best known for performing one of the first... Continue →
On August 11, 1949, Peter Marray Marshall of New York was appointed to the American Medical Association's (AMA) House of Delegates. The AMA's House... Continue →
On August 13, 1881, Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, established the first African American nursing school. This was a significant moment in... Continue →
Rebecca J. Cole was an important figure in American history, making significant strides as one of the first African American women to become a... Continue →
Dr. Herman Branson was an American physicist and chemist, born on August 14, 1914. He made significant contributions to the fields of molecular... Continue →
Yes, August 14, 1883, marks the birth of Ernest E. Just, an influential biologist known for his groundbreaking work in cell biology, particularly in... Continue →
Robert Tools made a groundbreaking contribution by being the first person to have a self-contained artificial heart implanted. His surgery, which... Continue →
On August 23, 1908, Martha Minerva Franklin led 52 African American nurses in founding the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in... Continue →
E. Franklin Frazier, born on August 29, 1894, was a renowned African American sociologist. He is best known for his work on the sociology of race,... Continue →
On September 1, 1867, Robert Tanner Freeman became the first Black person to graduate from Harvard Dental School. He was a trailblazer in dental... Continue →
On this date in 1895, National Medical Association founded in Atlanta.
ON this date in 1953, Clarence S. Green becomes the first African-American certified in neurological surgery.
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a pioneering African American surgeon, became the first Black physician elected as a charter member of the American College... Continue →
Robert Tools, the first human to receive the AbioCor fully self-contained artificial heart, died at age 59 due to multiple organ failure after... Continue →
On this day, John S. Rock—a lawyer, physician, and abolitionist—passed away. In 1865, he made history as the first African American admitted to... Continue →
Dr. Theodore K. Lawless was born on December 6, 1892, in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He became a renowned dermatologist, medical researcher, and... Continue →
William Augustus Hinton, a pioneering African American bacteriologist and pathologist, was born on this day. He is best known for developing the... Continue →
Mabel Keaton Staupers received the NAACP's prestigious Spingarn Medal for her pioneering leadership in nursing and her tireless advocacy for racial... Continue →
Henry McKee Minton was born on this day in Columbia, South Carolina. A pioneering African American physician and pharmacist, Minton co-founded Sigma... Continue →
On this day in 1941, Dr. Charles Richard Drew, a trailblazing African American physician and researcher, established a pioneering blood bank in New... Continue →
Dr. Miles V. Lynk, a pioneering African American physician, published The Medical and Surgical Observer, the first Black medical journal in the... Continue →
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