Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson (October 17, 1864 – April 26, 1901) was an American physician. She was the first black woman, as well as woman of any race, to be licensed as a physician in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Biography

Early years

Johnson was born Halle Tanner in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, the oldest daughter of

Benjamin Tucker Tanner Benjamin Tucker Tanner (December 25, 1835 – January 14, 1923) was an American clergyman and editor. He served as a Bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church from 1886, and founded ''The Christian Recorder'' (see Early American Metho ...

and Sarah Elizabeth Tanner, who were prominent figures in the local African-American community. She was the oldest of nine siblings, four sisters, two brothers, and two siblings who died in infancy.Hine, Darlene C. Black Women in America: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. 1 A-L. , Brooklyn, 1993. Benjamin was a minister at 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 ...

in Pittsburgh that also wrote several books, and Halle worked with him to publish the ''Christian Recorder'', a publication of the church. Her brother was the painter

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in Fren ...

. Her niece was

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989), was a pioneering Black professional and civil rights activist of the early-to-mid-20th century. In 1921, Mossell Alexander was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. in ...

, the first black woman in the United States to received a Ph.D and the first president of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

.Alexander, Sadie Tanner Mossell. ''Interview with Sadie Alexander''. 1977. ''Women and Social Movements in the United States,1600-2000. Database''. Web. In June 1886, she married Charles Dillon who died from pneumonia about two years after their marriage and they had a child together named Sadie in 1887. Johnson, then Halle Dillon, returned home to her family and entered the

Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

at the age of 24, graduating with honors in 1891. Around the time of her graduation,

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

, founder of the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

, had written to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, seeking an African-American physician. Dillon accepted the offer soon after her graduation.

Later life

Johnson married a mathematics professor at Tuskegee, the Reverend John Quincy Johnson, in 1894, and she ended her career there when they moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Her husband became president of

Allen University Allen University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina. It has more than 600 students and still serves a predominantly Black constituency. The cam ...

, a private school for black students. They then moved to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

for his education in theology; they had three sons together, John Quincy Jr., Benjamin T., and Henry Tanner. In 1900, the Johnsons moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where John became a minister at Saint Paul's AME Church.

Death and burial

Johnson died from

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

during childbirth on April 26, 1901. She is buried at Nashville's Greenwood Cemetery.

Career

When Dillon got to Alabama she was tutored by Dr. Cornelius N. Dorsette to prepare for the medical exam. Dillon began her career with the Alabama state medical examination, a ten-day oral examination administered by the leading physicians of the state. She began this process by submitting her application to the board of examiners on August 17, 1891 and started the exam soon after."The First Woman Examined By The State Board Of Medical Examiners." Washington Bee, 3 Oct. 1891, p. 1. Readex: African American Newspapers This rigorous exam required participants to give written responses to verbal questions from the state health office. Dr. Dillon scored a 78.81%, 3.81% higher than the requirement to pass (75%). She was under heavy scrutiny and the public eye due to her race and gender, but successfully passed the examination to become the first woman physician in Alabama. Johnson went on to work at Tuskegee Institute from 1891 to 1894. She also was accompanied by her father where Bishop Benjamin Tanner lectured for a year at the institute Bible School. There, her teaching schedule consisted of instructing up to two classrooms per term, teaching courses on anatomy and hygiene. Alongside that she oversaw the medical care of 480 students, families, faculty, and officers. Johnson cultivated her own medicines to treat them. This is where she was also required to compound the prescriptions for the town and institute. Her contributions at Tuskegee Institute earned her a salary of 600 dollars a year, including room and board, and was given a month of vacation each year.Harding, Sandra. The “Racial” Economy of Science: Toward a Democratic Future. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1993. She founded a nursing school as well. She also practiced medicine and pharmacy in the community and founded the Lafayette Dispensary for locals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Halle Tanner Dillon 1864 births 1901 deaths Allen University Drexel University alumni Deaths in childbirth People from Pittsburgh Tuskegee University African-American physicians Physicians from Alabama Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians African-American women physicians Deaths from dysentery Tanner family of Pennsylvania