Gray, Ida (Nelson Rollins)

Impact on the world

Became the first African-American woman to earn a dental degree, graduating from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and went on to mentor the second Black female dentist in Chicago.

Life & background

Orphaned young and raised by an aunt in Ohio, Gray worked as a dental assistant while attending segregated high school, then earned acceptance to the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, graduating in 1890 as the first African-American woman to hold a dental degree. She practiced for decades in Cincinnati and Chicago, serving both Black and white patients, and mentored a patient who went on to become the second Black female dentist in Chicago.

Sources

1. NLM Changing the Face of Medicine; University of Michigan