Science, Medicine & Engineering
Landmark
Anderson Ruffin Abbott
1837 – 1913
The first Canadian-born Black doctor
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Canada Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Licensed to practise medicine in 1861 at twenty-three, the first Black Canadian-born physician — and then he went south to serve as a surgeon in the American Civil War.
Anderson Ruffin Abbott was born in Toronto in 1837 to parents who had left Alabama after their store was ransacked.
In 1861, aged twenty-three, he became the first Black Canadian-born person licensed to practise medicine. He served as a surgeon with the Union forces during the American Civil War, and was among the physicians present at Abraham Lincoln's deathbed.
In 1861, aged twenty-three, he became the first Black Canadian-born person licensed to practise medicine. He served as a surgeon with the Union forces during the American Civil War, and was among the physicians present at Abraham Lincoln's deathbed.
- Britannica — Anderson Abbott
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography — Abbott, Anderson Ruffin
- Wikipedia — Anderson Ruffin Abbott
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