02/13/2026
As we commemorate Black History Month at Heather Hill Healthcare Center, we're honored to spotlight pioneers who shattered barriers and defied expectations, paving the way for groundbreaking research, innovative treatments, and visionary leadership that has improved the health and wellbeing of countless individuals.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD (1831-1895)
In 1864, after years as a nurse, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first black woman in the United States to receive an MD degree. She earned that distinction at the New England Female Medical College in Boston, Massachusetts - where she was also the institution's only black graduate. After the Civil War, crumpler moved to Richmond, Virginia, where she with other black doctors who were caring for formerly enslaved people in the Freedmen's Bureau. While she faced sexism and other forms of harassment, Crumpler ultimately found the experience transformative. "I returned to my former home, Boston, where I entered into the work with renewed vigor, practicing outside, and receiving children in the house for treatment, regardless, in measure, of renumeration," she wrote.
Crumpler also wrote A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts. Published in 1883, the book addresses children's and women's health and is written for "mothers, nurses, and all who may desire to mitigate the afflictions of the human race."
Note: No photos of Rebecca Lee Crumpler are known to exist.
Source: AAMC
