Dr ida gray nelson biography of nancy
Dr ida gray nelson biography of nancy grace.
Gray (Nelson Rollins), Ida 1867–1953
Dentist
At a Glance …
Sources
At a time when women were just beginning to be accepted into medical professions, Ida Gray Nelson Rollins became the first African-American woman to earn a doctor of dental surgery degree when she graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1890.
Gray came from humble beginnings but a part-time job as an assistant in a dental office as a teenager served as a springboard for her 40-year career as a dentist.
Dr ida gray nelson biography of nancy
Gray began practicing in Cincinnati but later moved to Chicago when she married. She became the first black woman to practice dentistry in Chicago. She was also very active in professional associations and women’s clubs and she mentored other African-American women who wanted to pursue professional careers.
Ida Gray was born on March 4, 1867, in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Her mother, Jennie Gray, died in her early teens when Gray was just an infant. Her father was a white man whose