Rebecca J. Cole (March 16, 1846August 14, 1922) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, organization founder and social reformer. In 1867, she became the second

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

woman to become a doctor in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, after

Rebecca Lee Crumpler Rebecca Lee Crumpler, born Rebecca Davis, (February 8, 1831March 9, 1895), was an American physician, nurse and author. After studying at the New England Female Medical College, in 1864 she became the first African-American woman to become a ...

three years earlier. Throughout her life she faced racial and gender-based barriers to her medical education, training in all-female institutions which were run by the first generation of graduating

female physicians The presence of women in medicine, particularly in the practicing fields of surgery and as physicians, has been traced to the earliest of history. Women have historically had lower participation levels in medical fields compared to men with occ ...

Early life and education

Cole was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on March 16, 1846, one of five children. Her father was a laborer and her mother was a

laundress A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidenced ...

. One of her sisters, Sarah Elizabeth Cole, married

Henry L. Phillips Henry Laird Phillips (March 11, 1847 – May 27, 1947) was an American social reformer and rector of the Church of the Crucifixion, an African American Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church congregation in Philadelphia. The Pennsylva ...

, a prominent African American

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

priest, . Cole attended high school at the

Institute for Colored Youth The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first high school for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans precedin ...

where the curriculum that included Latin, Greek, and mathematics, graduating in 1863. Cole graduated from the

Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) was founded in 1850, and was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. The New England Female Medical College had been established ...

in 1867, under the supervision of

Ann Preston Ann Preston (December 1, 1813April 18, 1872) was an American physician, activist, and educator. Early life Ann Preston was the first woman dean of a medical school, the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), which was the first medical ...

, the first woman dean of the school. The Women’s Medical College was founded by

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture * Temperance (group), Canadian dan ...

reformers in 1850. Initially named the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, it was the first school to offer formal medical training to women with the culmination of an M.D. Cole's graduate

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

was titled ''The Eye and Its Appendages''. In her senior year, Cole lived with fellow medical students Odelia Blinn and Martha E. Hutchings. Nearly thirty years later, Blinn wrote an article detailing how crossing the ' color line' in Philadelphia nearly derailed Cole's studies at the college and her plans for a medical career.

Career

After earning her medical degree, Cole interned at

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United K ...

New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is a nonprofit, acute care, teaching hospital in New York City and is the only hospital in Lower Manhattan south of Greenwich Village. It is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and on ...

, where she was assigned to teach

prenatal care Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care, is a type of preventive healthcare. It is provided in the form of medical checkups, consisting of recommendations on managing a healthy lifestyle and the provision of medical information such as matern ...

and

hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

to women in

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

s. Blackwell described Cole as "an intelligent young colored physician hocarried on this work with tact and care." Cole later briefly practiced medicine in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

before returning to Philadelphia. In 1873, Cole opened a Women's Directory Center with Dr. Charlotte Abbey, which provided medical and legal services to disadvantaged women and children. In January 1899, Cole was appointed superintendent of a home run by the Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The association's 1899 annual report stated that Cole possessed "all the qualities essential to such a position-ability, energy, experience, tact." A subsequent report noted that: Cole practiced medicine for fifty years. In 2015, she was chosen as an Innovators Walk of Fame honoree by the

University City Science Center The University City Science Center (UCSC) was established as the first and largest urban research park in the United States. It was established in 1963, within the demolished Black Bottom, Philadelphia, Black Bottom neighborhood of Philadelphia, n ...

Death

Cole died on August 14, 1922, at the age of 76. She is buried at Eden Cemetery in

Collingdale, Pennsylvania Collingdale is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 8,908, at the 2020 census. Local governance Donna Matteo-Spadea is the current mayor of Collingdale. Frank Kelly served twelve consecuti ...

. Few records or photos of her have survived.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Rebecca 1846 births 1922 deaths Physicians from Philadelphia Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni Cheyney University of Pennsylvania alumni American primary care physicians 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians Burials at Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania) 20th-century African-American physicians 20th-century American physicians 20th-century African-American women 19th-century African-American physicians African Americans in Pennsylvania African-American women physicians