Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: The First Black Woman Who Wrote 'Scrips

February 12, 2018

Born Rebecca Davis on February 8, 1831, Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler grew up in Delaware under the care of her aunt, a woman who provided the sick and ailing with care. She is known for becoming the first African American woman physician in the US.

Rebecca was a bright child and attended the West-Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts, a prestigious private school. She moved to Charleston, Massachusetts in 1852, and applied to medical school in 1860. She was accepted into the New England Female Medical College. The coursework was 17 weeks in length during the first year of instruction, followed by a two-year apprenticeship under an established physician’s supervision.

In 1864, Rebecca became New England Female Medical College’s only African-American graduate. As late as 1920, there were still only 65 African-American women doctors in the United States.

Rebecca opened her own practice in Boston before moving to Richmond, Virginia with her husband in 1865. It was in Virginia that Rebecca worked under General Orlando Brown, the Assistant Commissioner of the Freedman’s Bureau for the State of Virginia. This agency was in charge of helping more than 4 million slaves make the transition from bondage to freedom. It was also here that Rebecca had to learn to ignore daily accounts of racism, sexism, and rude behavior from colleagues, pharmacists, and others.

Four years later, Rebecca and her husband moved back to Boston, where she continued to practice medicine. They then moved to New York in 1880 and Rebecca wrote her first book, “A Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts.” It was published in 1883.

Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler died March 9, 1895 in Hyde Park, New York.