Lillian Atkins Clark (April 29, 1897 – March 28, 1934) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. She was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman to pass the National Board of Medical Examiners. She worked as a medical doctor in

Philadelphia 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 ...

in hospitals and in her own practice.

Early life and education

Lillian Atkins was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, the daughter of Dr. William E. Atkins and Ida Binga Atkins of

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. Her father was a physician. Her maternal grandfather was Anthony Binga Jr., a prominent black Baptist clergyman. She attended

Shaw University Shaw University is a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in ...

on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

, where she had an excellent academic record. She then studied at 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 ...

and earned the school's Anatomy Prize. She was a member 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 ...

sorority.

Career

Atkins passed the National Board of Medical Examiners in 1924 and was the first African American woman to pass the board. She worked as chief resident physician at Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital. Her focus as a doctor was on women's and children's health and she also worked as an assistant to

Nathan Francis Mossell Nathan Francis Mossell (July 27, 1856 – October 27, 1946) was the first African-American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1882. He did post-graduate training at hospitals in Philadelphia and London. In 1888, ...

, the hospital's medical director and superintendent. Clark opened an office in North Philadelphia in 1925.

Personal life

Lillian Atkins married Hugh T. Clark in 1923. After being ill for nearly a year, Clark died at age 36 years, in

, where she had moved in with her mother. She was buried in Elmerton Cemetery. The disposition of her considerable estate was disputed in court, with her widower and her sister each claiming to be the chief legatee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Lillian Atkins 1897 births 1934 deaths African-American women physicians 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians 20th-century African-American physicians Physicians from Philadelphia Shaw University alumni Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni Delta Sigma Theta members