Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler

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.