Ruth Smith Lloyd (January 17, 1917 – February 5, 1995) was a 20th-century scientist whose research focused on

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

, the relationship of

sex hormone Sex hormones, also known as sex steroids, gonadocorticoids and gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate steroid hormone receptors. The sex hormones include the androgens, estrogens, and progestogens. Their effects ar ...

s to growth, and the female sex cycle. She earned a PhD in the field of anatomy from

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

in 1941, making her the first African-American woman to have reached this achievement. Lloyd worked on the faculty of medicine at Howard University from 1942 to 1977. She married physician Sterling Morrison Lloyd in 1939, and they had three children: Marilyn, Sterling and David. She died of cancer in 1995.

Early life and education

Ruth Smith was born in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

on January 17, 1917. Her parents were Mary Elizabeth (Morris) Smith, who was a clerk in the

US Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

, and Bradley Donald Smith, who was a

pullman porter Pullman porters were men hired to work for the railroads as porters on sleeping cars. Starting shortly after the American Civil War, George Pullman sought out former slaves to work on his sleeper cars. Their job was to carry passengers’ bag ...

. She had two sisters named Hilda B, and M Otwiner. She was the youngest child. Lloyd attended the prestigious, historically black, Dunbar High School. Lloyd attended

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

, which was then a mostly white institution. Her choice of college was reportedly influenced by the experience of her brother-in-law,

William Montague Cobb William Montague Cobb (1904–1990) was an American board-certified physician and a physical anthropologist. As the first African-American Ph.D in anthropology, and the only one until after the Korean War, his main focus in the anthropologica ...

, who was married to Hilda. Lloyd graduated with a bachelor of arts ''magna cum laude'' in 1937, majoring in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. From 1937 to 1938, Lloyd studied for a master's degree in zoology at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

supported by a fellowship, under

Ernest Everett Just Ernest Everett Just (August 14, 1883 – October 27, 1941) was a pioneering African-American biologist, academic and science writer. Just's primary legacy is his recognition of the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organis ...

. She had planned on becoming a school teacher, but was encouraged to undertake further study. Lloyd gained a fellowship from the

Rosenwald Fund The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...

and undertook doctoral studies under Boris Rubenstein at

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. She studied the fertility of

macaque monkey The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principall ...

s, and the vaginal smear technique, becoming the first African-American woman to gain a PhD in anatomy with her dissertation, ''Adolescence of macaques (Macacus rhesus)'' in 1941.

Career

Lloyd taught at

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association aft ...

in Virginia from 1941 to 1942, and then joined the medical faculty of Howard University in 1942. Lloyd worked at Howard until her retirement in 1977. She taught physiology and anatomy, reaching the rank of associate professor in 1955. Her areas of research were

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

, sex-related hormones, and

medical genetics Medical genetics is the branch tics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to medicine, while medical genetics refers to the application of genetics to medical care. For example, research on the caus ...

. Lloyd also chaired the university's Committee on Student Guidance and was director of the Academic Reinforcement Program. From 1947, the Department of Anatomy in which she worked was chaired by William Montague Cobb. She was a member of

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

honorary scientific society and the

American Association of Anatomists The American Association for Anatomy (AAA), based in Rockville, MD, was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1888 as the Association of American Anatomists for the "advancement of anatomical science." AAA later changed its name to the American Associa ...

Personal life

Ruth Smith married Sterling Morrison Lloyd on December 30, 1939. He was a physician who also graduated from Howard University, and died in 1980. Lloyd had three children and eight grandchildren. In retirement, she was active in the All-Souls Unitarian Church, helped found the

National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...

in 1987, and was a member of the social and service organization, Girl Friends. Lloyd died of cancer at home in Washington on February 5, 1995.

References

Sources

# # # # # # # # # # # #

External links