Dorothy Lavinia Brown
Dorothy Lavinia Brown was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on January 7th, 1919 and is the African-American Surgeon. At the age of 85, Dorothy Lavinia Brown biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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To start off her career, Brown helped as a doctor in World War II. She worked as an inspector in the Rochester Army Ordinance Department. Brown was the chief surgeon at the now-defunct Riverside Hospital in Nashville from 1957 to 1983. In 1966, she became the first African-American female to be elected to the Tennessee General Assembly (known also as the Tennessee State Legislature), a position that she held for two years. She almost succeeded in having abortions legalized in cases of rape or incest, and in expanding the already existing legally permitted abortions in cases when the "mother's life was in danger". During her career as a politician, Brown also became involved in the passing of the Negro History Act, which required public schools in Tennessee to "conduct special programs during Negro History Week to recognize accomplishments made by African Americans".
After her work in WWII, she entered medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville Tennessee. Dr. Brown then did a one-year internship at Harlem Hospital and next she completed a five-year residency in general surgery at Meharry and Hubbard Hospital. In 1959, She became the first black female surgeon to become a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
In 1968, Brown tried to obtain a seat in the Tennessee Senate, but lost in part due to her support for abortion laws. In 1968, following her departure from politics, Brown returned to becoming a full-time physician at the Riverside Hospital. Brown also acted as an attending surgeon at the George W. Hubbard and General Hospitals, as director of education for the clinical rotation program of the Riverside and Meharry Hospitals. She was also a surgery professor at the Meharry Medical College and consulted for the National Institutes of Health in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
After losing in her run for a seat in the Tennessee Senate, Brown served on the Joint Committee on Opportunities for Women in Medicine, sponsored by the American Medical Association. Along with support women in medicine, Brown also had a major influence in the fight for the rights of people of color, and was a life long member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).