Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Rebecca Lee Crumpler was a pioneering African American physician and author in the 19th century United States. She made history by becoming the first African American woman to earn a Doctor of Medicine degree in the country, graduating from the New England Female Medical College in 1864. Her medical career was dedicated to providing care for women, children, and the newly freed population in the post-Civil War South. She further cemented her legacy by publishing A Book of Medical Discourses in 1883, one of the earliest medical texts written by an African American author.

Early life and education

Born in Delaware in 1831, she was raised primarily by an aunt in Pennsylvania who was known for caring for sick neighbors, which inspired her future career path. She began her professional life working as a nurse in Massachusetts from 1852 to 1860, during which time she gained the support of the physicians she worked under to apply to medical school. In 1860, she was admitted to the New England Female Medical College in Boston, an institution that was one of the first to train women in medicine. Her studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the American Civil War, but she returned and graduated in 1864, becoming the college's only African American graduate.

Medical career

After earning her M.D., she began practicing medicine in Boston, focusing her work on women and children. In 1865, following the end of the American Civil War, she moved to Richmond, Virginia, to provide medical care for newly freed slaves, working alongside other relief organizations like the Freedmen's Bureau and various missionary groups. This work in the Reconstruction era was exceptionally challenging due to intense racism and sexism from many in the medical community and the broader public. She returned to Boston in 1869, establishing a practice at her home on Joy Street on Beacon Hill, where she continued to treat patients, particularly women and children from under-served communities, often regardless of their ability to pay.

A Book of Medical Discourses

In 1883, she published A Book of Medical Discourses, a volume dedicated to the health of women and children. The text was based on her extensive clinical journals and observations from her years of practice. It offered practical advice on topics ranging from prenatal care and midwifery to the management of common childhood diseases like measles and scarlet fever. The publication of this work made her one of the first African Americans to author a medical text, aiming to disseminate crucial health knowledge directly to mothers and those caring for families.

Legacy and honors

Her groundbreaking achievements have been recognized posthumously with several significant honors. In 1989, the Rebecca Lee Society, one of the first medical societies for African American women, was founded in her name. A chapter of the American Medical Women's Association at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine is also named for her. In 2019, Virginia designated March 30 as Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Day. Furthermore, a U.S. Treasury initiative plans to feature her portrait on a new design of the five-dollar bill.

Personal life

She was first married to Wyatt Lee, a former slave from Virginia who worked as a laborer, from 1852 until his death in 1863. In 1865, she married Arthur Crumpler, a Boston native who worked as a porter and later as a blacksmith. The couple had one child, a daughter named Lizzie Sinclair Crumpler. After retiring from medical practice, she and her family lived in Hyde Park, a neighborhood of Boston, where she was active in church and community affairs. She died there in 1895 and was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Boston.

Category:American physicians Category:African-American physicians Category:American medical writers