JFK with 1963 Federal Woman's Award winners

Eleanor L. Makel (March 7, 1914 – March 1, 1992) was a medical doctor, a hospital administrator, and a government official. During the administration of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

, Eleanor Makel was one of the highest ranking black women in the federal government.

Early life

Eleanor Lewis Makel was from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, the daughter of Alexander E. Makel and Florence (Flora) Lewis Makel. Her parents ran a clothing store; her mother was active in the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

and in the Progressive Business Association. Eleanor Makel attended Howard University, graduating in 1938. In 1943 she graduated from

Meharry Medical College Meharry Medical College is a private historically black medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, it was the first me ...

Career

Makel was the first woman doctor admitted to a residency in internal medicine at the

Freedman's Hospital Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of the previous Griffith Stadium. The hospital has served the African-American community in the area for over ...

in Washington. She also worked at the District of Columbia Health Department, and in the student health program at Howard University, early in her career. She was a medical officer in the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, based at

St. Elizabeths Hospital St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. It opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally oper ...

from 1953. She was the first black person to hold a professional staff position at the hospital. In 1963 Makel was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award, presented to career federal employees who made significant contributions to their programs. Makel was one of the highest ranking African-American women in the federal government during the Kennedy administration. By 1971 she was Director of the Medical and Surgical Branch at St. Elizabeths. In 1980, she was among the hospital administrators accused of discriminatory promotion in the lawsuit Daye v. Harris. She gave an oral history interview about her career in medicine and government in 1983, for the Women in the Federal Government Oral History Project at Harvard University. Makel also held a teaching position at the

George Washington University School of Medicine The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (abbreviated as GW Medical School or SMHS) is the professional medical school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. SMHS is one of the most selective med ...

Personal life

Eleanor L. Makel married Gerald E. Roberts, a law librarian. She died in 1992, aged 77 years, in Washington, D.C.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makel, Eleanor L. 1914 births 1992 deaths American hospital administrators Howard University alumni Meharry Medical College alumni