Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman to become a doctor of medicine in the United States.
After moving to Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1852, Rebecca Crumpler worked as a nurse for eight years. At that time, the lack of official schools of nursing meant she required no formal training for the job. But she certainly wasn't afraid of some hard work. She was admitted into the New England Female Medical College in 1860 and graduated four years later with her M.D.
After the end of the Civil War in 1865, Dr. Crumpler moved to Richmond, Virginia to provide medical care for the freed slaves who would otherwise have no one else to turn to. She dedicated herself to the understanding of diseases that particularly afflicted women and children, and when she eventually returned to Massachusetts, she opened her own clinic in Boston. She saw poverty stricken patients and treated them regardless of their ability to pay her.
