Mary Eliza Mahoney
by Lil Asian
Early Life
Mary Eliza Mahoney was born on May 7, 1845 , in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. After working for several years as a private-duty nurse at Boston's New England Hospital for Women and Children, in 1878, Mahoney was admitted to the hospital's nursing program.
Pioneer of Nursing
Mary Mahoney made history when she became the first black woman to complete nurse's training. Subsequently, she became one of the first black members of the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (later renamed the American Nurses Association), as well as a member of the newly founded National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. Mahoney has been credited as one of the first women to register to vote in Boston following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women's suffrage, on August 26, 1920.
Later Life and Career
In the early 1900s, Mahoney relocated to Long Island, New York, to serve a stint as supervisor of the Howard Orphan Asylum for Black Children, returning to Massachusetts thereafter. Mahoney was inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame in 1976 and received induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. She died in Boston on January 4, 1926, at the age of 80.
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Out of a class of 42 students , Mary was 1 of 4 students to graduate .
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Out of a class of 42 students , Mary was 1 of 4 students to graduate .
Black History Month - Mary Eliza Mahoney