Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926) was the first Black person to study and work as a professional nurse in the United States. Born to freed slaves who had moved to Boston from North Carolina, Mahoney attended school at Phillips School, which after 1855, became one of the first integrated schools in the country.
Knowing that she wanted to become a nurse, Mahoney worked at the New England Hospital for Women and Children for 15 years—taking on roles such as janitor, cook, and washer woman. Eventually, she was able to work as a nurse’s aide, where learned a bit more about nursing.
At the age of 33, Mahoney was admitted to the hospital’s professional graduate school for nursing. After she finished her training, Mahoney pursued a career as a private nurse to focus on the care needs of individual clients. In 1896, she joined the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (NAAUSC), which later became known as the American Nurses Association (ANA) and in 1908, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). After decades as a private nurse, she became the director of the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum for black children in Kings Park, New York. She served as the director from 1911 until 1912. She retired from nursing after 40 years in the profession, however, she continued to champion women’s rights. After the 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920, Mahoney was among the first women registered to vote in Boston. Mahoney lived until she was 80. After three years of battling breast cancer, she died on January 4, 1926.