Nathan Francis Mossell
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Nathan Francis Mossell (July 27, 1856-1946) was the first African American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania medical school in 1882.
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[edit] Birth
Nathan Mossell was born in Hamilton, Canada in 1856. His father was Aaron Albert Mossell I, and his mother was Eliza Bowers. He had a sibling: Aaron Albert Mossell II who married Mary L. Tanner (1866-?) and was the first African American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania law school. Aaron was the father of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898-1989), who was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States.
[edit] Medical career
He graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1879. He received a medical degree in 1882 from the University of Pennsylvania and was the winner of the Bradley Medal in Natural Science. He did his post graduate training with Dr. D. Hayes Agnew in the Out-Patient Surgical Clinic of the University Hospital, Mossell's post-graduate studies included an internship in the Guy's, Queens College and St. Thomas hospitals in London. In 1888 he was elected to membership in the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the first black physician offered membership. In August of 1895 he was the leading figure in the founding of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School. He served as chief-of-staff and medical director there until his retirement in 1933. In 1948 Douglass Hospital merged with another predominantly black hospital, Mercy, and in 1955 the new Mercy-Douglass Hospital building opened on Woodland Avenue, between 50th and 51st Streets, in West Philadelphia.
[edit] Marriage
He married Gertrude Emily Hicks Bustill (1948-1855) on July 12, 1880 in Philadelphia. Gertrude was the daughter of Charles Hicks Bustill (1816-1890) and Emily Robinson. Together they had the following children: Florence Mossell; and Mary Campbell Mossell.
[edit] Death
He died in 1946 in Philadelphia.
