Today in History, February 24, 1864:
Rebecca Lee, later Rebecca Lee Crumpler, graduates from the New England Female Medical College in Massachusetts, becoming the first black female Medical Doctor in America, doing so in the midst of the Civil War.
After the war ended, she voluntarily moved to the heart of the south, Richmond, Virginia and worked for the Freedman’s Bureau treating freed slaves.
She later wrote a book about her experiences working as a doctor amongst people that hated her for the color of her skin and for her chosen profession.
Mark Loves History! 