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Marie B. Lucas

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The physician Marie B. Lucas
A portrait of Marie B. Lucas, which accompanied an article in The Crisis on her graduation as the only woman in her class at Howard University College of Medicine.

Marie Bernadette Lucas (c. 1875 – February 23, 1935) was an African American physician, one of the earliest women to practice medicine in Washington, D.C.

As a young woman, she worked in public schools in Washington,[1][2] having studied at the Miner Normal School, a teachers' college for African American students.[3] She married M. Grant Lucas, who at one time was principal of Blanche Kelso Bruce Elementary School and the Wormley School.[1][4][5][6] The couple had one son, in 1907.[1][4][7]

Lucas studied medicine at Howard University, a historically Black university, that from its founding accepted both male and female students.[4][5][8] While at Howard, she was awarded the George N. Perry prize for her high grades in pediatrics,[1][2] and she was class secretary for her program.[9] She graduated with an M.D. in 1914, the only woman to graduate from the program that year, and was subsequently licensed to practice medicine in the District of Columbia.[1][6][10][11] She would go on to practice medicine for twenty years.[5][8]

After graduating, she joined the staff of physicians at the Freedmen's Hospital, which is now Howard University Hospital.[4][12] She worked in the hospital's pediatrics department.[12][13] She was the founding chairwoman of the Harriet Tubman Branch of the local Red Cross.[14] Later, she was examining physician for the Teachers' Benefit and Annuity Association.[5][8]

By the early 1920s, she was one of just nine women medical doctors in Washington, D.C., and she was described at the time as "the most active and successful" of them.[4] Her practice was considered lucrative at the time.[4]

Having begun her career as a teacher, Lucas remained involved in various educational efforts, both medical and non-medical. She lectured on hygiene at what was then the Maryland Normal and Industrial School at Bowie, now Bowie State University,[4] as well as at various conferences and schools.[3][12][15][16] She was also involved in the Frelinghuysen University, an education initiative for Black students, as a trustee at the Hannah Stanley Opportunity School, which was within the Frelinghuysen system.[17] Additionally, she was a longtime member of the Public School Community Center Council.[5][8]

Lucas's son became a physician.[4][5] She died in 1935 at her home on 15th Street NW in Washington.[5][8] She was 60 years old.[18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Men of the Month: A Woman Physician". The Crisis. 9 (1). November 1914.
  2. ^ a b "Mrs. Marie B. Lucas Excels in Medical Department Test". The Evening Star. October 12, 1913.
  3. ^ a b "In the Schools". The Evening Star. December 17, 1916.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Sara W. (1923). "Colored Women Physicians". The Southern Workman. LII. The Press of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Dr. Marie B. Lucas Funeral Tomorrow". The Evening Star. February 25, 1935.
  6. ^ a b "Gets Degree in Medicine: Mrs. Marie B. Lucas Graduates From Howard University". The Sunday Star. June 7, 1914.
  7. ^ "Births Reported". The Evening Star. July 8, 1907.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Dr. Marie B. Lucas Dies at Her Home". The Sunday Star. February 24, 1935.
  9. ^ "Death of Dr. J. M. Lamb". Howard University Journal. March 1, 1912. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  10. ^ Report of the Health Officer. District of Columbia Health Department. 1919.
  11. ^ "Howard University Catalogue 1914-1915" (PDF). Howard University Record. May 1915. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c "Addresses Colored Y.W.C.A.". The Evening Star. November 1, 1915.
  13. ^ Commissioners, District of Columbia Board of (1922). Report of the Government of the District of Columbia: Including Miscellaneous Reports.
  14. ^ "Over One Hundred Recruits for Harriet Tubman Branch of the District Red Cross". The Evening Star. April 6, 1917.
  15. ^ "Health Campaign Closes At Gibbons Institute After 2 Months of Work". The New York Age. April 9, 1927.
  16. ^ "Playground Children Have Exhibition Games". The Evening Star. August 2, 1914.
  17. ^ "Frelinghuysen University Night at Shiloh Baptist Church Program" (PDF). Frelinghuysen Memorabilia. 1934.
  18. ^ "Deaths Reported". The Evening Star. February 27, 1935.
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