On Nov. 15, 1894, the Freedmen’s Hospital School of Nursing was founded for African–Americans by Black surgeon Dr. Daniel Hale Williams.
The hospital was linked to the Freedmen’s Bureau, a social service system set up for former slaves and their descendants during the Civil War. The hospital trained Black medical professionals after slavery and during segregation, when Blacks were not allowed to train alongside whites at other institutions.
In 1967, Congress transferred the Freedmen’s Hospital to Howard University where it was converted into the Howard University College of Nursing in 1969.
By the time its last class graduated in 1973, the Freedmen's Hospital graduated 1,700 Black nurses.
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(Photo: Courtesy Legacy Museum)
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