Mary Eliza Mahoney Becomes the First Black Nurse in America

Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first African-American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States. She earned her diploma in 1879 from the New England Hospital for Women and Children's training program, one of the first to allow women to enter the healthcare profession. Mahoney co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in 1908 (the organization merged with the American Nurses Association in 1951).