02/05/2026
Dr. Rebecca Crumpler was the first African American woman to earn an M.D. degree. In fact, Dr. Crumpler's 'Book of Medical Discourses' is one of the very first medical publications by an African American, a remarkable mark of her achievements as a physician and medical writer in a time when very few African Americans were able to gain admittance to medical college, let alone publish in 1883!
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)