Explore discoveries, inventions and the people who expanded what was possible.
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1933–2025
Mary Lovenia DeCongé-Watson (October 4, 1933 – July 26, 2025) was an American mathematician and former religious sister in the Sisters of the Holy Family. She was the 15th African-American woman to earn her Ph.D. in mathematics.
Loading image…1855–1925
Mary Ellen Britton (1855–1925) was an American physician, educator, suffragist, journalist and civil rights activist from Lexington, Kentucky. Britton was an original member of the Kentucky Negro Education Association, which formed in 1877.
1881–1953
Mary Eliza Merritt (April 27, 1881 – 1953) was an American nurse who was the first African American to be licensed as nurse in Kentucky. Merritt was awarded the Mary Mahoney Medal for distinguished service in nursing from the National Association of…
1845–1926
Mahoney graduated from nursing school in 1879 and later helped found the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, opening the profession to Black women.
1916–2008
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie (19 April 1916 – 20 February 2008) was an American educator and author in the field of nursing. Known for breaking down racial barriers, she was the first black nurse to serve as a voting member on the board of a state nursing…
1907–1969
Mary Elliott Hill (January 5, 1907 – February 12, 1969) was one of the earliest African-American women to become a chemist. She was known as both an organic and analytical chemist. Hill worked on the properties of ultraviolet light, developing analytic…
Loading image…1870–1958
Mary Fitzbutler Waring (1870–1958) was an American physician who succeeded Mary McLeod Bethune as president of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) from 1933 to 1937.
1900–1966
Mary Francis Hill Coley (August 15, 1900 – March 8, 1966) was an American lay midwife who ran a successful business providing a range of birth services and who starred in a critically acclaimed documentary film used to train midwives and doctors. Her…
Biography
Mary B. James is an American physicist and educator. She is the Dean for Institutional Diversity and the A. A. Knowlton Professor of Physics at Reed College. James specializes in particle physics and accelerators.
Loading image…1912–2006
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner (May 17, 1912 – January 13, 2006) was an African American inventor who created an adjustable sanitary belt. to keep menstrual pads securely in place. She has been granted five patents in between 1956 and 1987, one of the…
1854–1952
Mary Keys Gibson (also Gipson, 1854–1952) was an American nurse. Gibson, a former enslaved person, worked as a midwife for many years and later earned her degree in nursing in 1907 at age 53. Gibson was the first African American to earn an accredited…
Loading image…1916–2001
Mary Louise Petty (January 4, 1916 – September 14, 2001) was an American Army nurse and a pioneering figure in the racial integration of the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She became the first African American nurse in the corps to…
1912–2010
Mary Lee Mills (August 1912 – February 2, 2010) was an American nurse. Born into a family of eleven children, she attended the Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing and graduated in a nursing degree and became a registered nurse. After working as a midwife,…
1914–1966
Mary Logan Reddick (December 31, 1914 – October 1, 1966) was an American neuroembryologist who earned her PhD from Radcliffe College, Harvard University in 1944. She was a full professor, first at Morehouse College, and then at the University of Atlanta…
1868–1927
Mary Louise Brown (1861 – March 9, 1927) was a physician and teacher who devoted over 25 years of her life to servicing the African-American community of Washington D.C. Brown was the first African-American woman to receive a wartime medical commission…
1943–2015
Mary Moultrie (born Mary Ann Moultrie; 1943- April 27, 2015) was a nurse's aid and civil rights activist. She was elected president of the union Local 1199B,the organized workers of the Medical College hospital of the University of South Carolina, where…
Loading image…1926–2015
Mary Perry Smith (May 29, 1926 – August 10, 2015) was an American mathematics educator who cofounded the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program and the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
1805–1881
Seacole used Caribbean and European medical knowledge to treat sick and wounded soldiers, funding and running her own “British Hotel” near the Crimean front lines.
1919–2006
Mary Starke Harper (September 6, 1919 – July 27, 2006) was an African American nurse who worked in bedside nursing, nurse research and health policy. She spent several years working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She performed clinical research on…
1949–
Mary Styles Harris (born June 26, 1949) is an American biologist and geneticist, president of Harris & Associates in Atlanta, Georgia, and owner of BioTechnical Communications, which produced the television documentary "To My Sister...A Gift for Life."…
Loading image…1952–
Mary Travis Bassett is an American physician and public health researcher. Bassett was the 17th Health Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, serving from September 2021 to December 2022. From 2014 to 2018, she was the commissioner of the…
Loading image…1921–2005
Jackson overcame segregated education barriers to become an aerospace engineer and later worked to advance women’s careers at NASA.
Loading image…1899–1992
Maryrose Reeves Allen (November 5, 1899 – January 14, 1992) was an American college professor and administrator. She was a physical education professor at Howard University from 1925 to 1967, and founded the Negro Women's Intercollegiate Athletic…
Loading image…1972–
Ronald Maurice Bean, better known professionally as Mathematics (also known as Allah Mathematics) (born October 21, 1971), is a hip hop producer and DJ for the Wu-Tang Clan and its solo and affiliate projects. He designed the Wu-Tang Clan logo.
Biographies, museum objects and archive records are distinct card types. Every card links to its historical source.
