Celebrate Black History Month: James McCune Smith
Join the CMA as we celebrate famous black physicians throughout history.
James McCune Smith
James McCune Smith was the first African American to hold a medical degree in addition to being an important abolitionist and author.
Born in 1813 in New York City to his mother whom Smith described as a “self-emancipated woman,” he was enrolled by age 9 in the African Free School.
After graduation, he applied to Columbia University and Geneva Medical College in New York State but was denied admission due to racial discrimination. So, he applied and was accepted to the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He studied and graduated at the top of his class. He obtained a bachelor's degree in 1835, a master's degree in 1836, and a medical degree in 1837.
Upon returning to America, he established what has been called the first black-owned and operated pharmacy in the United States. His practice in lower Manhattan treated both black and white patients, specializing in general surgery and medicine. In 1846, Smith was appointed as the only doctor of the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York City and worked there for nearly 20 years. Trying to protect the children, Smith regularly gave vaccinations for smallpox while attempting to fend off the other common causes of death like measles (for which there was no vaccine), and tuberculosis (for which there was no antibiotic at the time).
In addition to practicing as a physician, Smith contributed articles to medical journals, participated in learned societies, and was an active abolitionist. He used his training in medicine and statistics to refute common misconceptions about race and promote equality. He was involved at all levels of anti-slavery activism like staving off the Liberian Colonization Movement, making a strong push for black and female suffrage, and proposing a mutual savings bank to elevate the social conditions of black people.
James McCune Smith died on November 17, 1865, at the age of 52, from congestive heart failure.
This was nineteen days before the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2594637/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McCune_Smith