First African American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School
Graduated Harvard Medical Class of 1951
Mildred Fay Jefferson was born on April 4, 1926, in Pittsburg, Texas. She earned her bachelor's degree from Texas College at age 16, and earned her master's degree from Tufts University in 1947.
She entered HMS as a member of the class of 1951. She was the first woman to complete a surgical internship at Boston City Hospital, and after graduating from Harvard Medical School, was the first woman doctor at Boston University Medical Center, eventually becoming Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery, and the first woman member of the Boston Surgical Society.
Dr. Jefferson spent much of her career as an advocate for pro-life causes. She was a founder of the Massachusetts Citizens for Life, a member of the National Right to Life Committee's board of directors, and the Founding President of the Right to Life Crusade, Inc. She died in 2010.
The Schlessinger Library holds the Papers of Mildred Jefferson; the finding aid is available here: https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/resources/7664.