Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
![](/sites/medical/painweek/files/styles/804x372/public/2022-02/Black%20History%20Month.jpg?itok=I-sYz4ML)
Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD (1831-1895)
The first Black American woman to earn a medical degree (1864). She also:
- Wrote A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts (1883)
- Worked in the Freedmen’s Bureau caring for formerly enslaved people
- Fought racism and sexism to do what she felt so strongly about
Dr. Crumpler: "Having been reared by a kind aunt in Pennsylvania, whose usefulness with the sick was continually sought, I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to be in a position to relieve the sufferings of others.”
Note: Although there are photos on the internet that claim to be of Dr. Crumpler, the consensus is that there are no surviving pictures of her.
Read more about Dr. Crumpler.
Did you enjoy this article?
Subscribe to the PAINWeek Newsletter
and get our latest articles and more direct to your inbox
Holly Caster