John Van Surly DeGrasse

John Van Surly DeGrasse

Perspectives of Change: The Story of Civil Rights, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access to Education at HMS and HSDM

John Van Surly DeGrasse (1825-1868) was a doctor who established a medical practice in Boston in 1854. He joined the Massachusetts Medical Society on August 12, 1854 and became the first African-American to belong to a medical society in Massachusetts. He was also the first African-American medical officer in the U.S. Army. He died in Boston on November 25, 1868.

Image Courtesy of Museum of African American History,
Boston and Nantucket, Massachusetts