Boston Honors Trailblazing Alum Rebecca Lee Crumpler (BUSM 1864)

First Black woman to graduate from a US medical school will be recognized with weeklong Symposia

On Monday, the City of Boston and Mayor Martin Walsh are proclaiming February 8, 2021, a day officially honoring Rebecca Lee Crumpler, an 1864 graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine, then New England Female Medical College. And the recognition will extend beyond Monday (her 190th birthday), as BUSM will hold a virtual symposia in honor of Crumpler all week.

So who exactly was Crumpler (MED 1864) and why is she deserving of a formal day in her honor? Learn more at BU Today.