Mary E. Britton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dr. Mary Ellen Britton
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| Born | April 05, 1855 |
| Died | August 27, 1925 (aged 70) Lexington, Kentucky, US
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| Known for | First African-American female physician in Lexington, Kentucky |
| Medical career | |
| Field | Hydrotherapy, electrotherapy |
Mary Ellen Britton (1855–1925) was an amazing American woman from Lexington, Kentucky. She was a doctor, a teacher, and a journalist. She also fought for civil rights and for women's right to vote (a suffragist).
Mary Ellen Britton was a founding member of the Kentucky Negro Education Association, started in 1877. She also led the Lexington Woman's Improvement Club. Later, she helped create the Ladies Orphan Society, which opened the Colored Orphan Industrial Home in Lexington in 1892.
She achieved many great things despite the challenges she faced. After teaching in Lexington's public schools, she became a doctor. She worked from her home, specializing in hydrotherapy (water therapy), electrotherapy (using electricity for healing), and massage. In 1902, she became the first woman doctor officially licensed in Lexington.
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Early Life and Education
Mary Ellen Britton was born on April 5, 1855, in Lexington, Kentucky. She was born a free person, meaning she was not enslaved. Her parents were Laura and Henry Britton. They lived on Mill Street in Lexington.
Unlike many African Americans at that time, Mary and her siblings received a good education. Her father, Henry, was a freeborn carpenter and later a barber. Her mother, Laura Trigg, was a talented singer and musician. Laura had been freed from slavery at age sixteen.
From a young age, Mary Ellen Britton attended private schools for African American children in Lexington. These schools were supported by the city's African American professionals. In 1859, she and her older sister Julia attended a school started by Mr. William H. Gibson.
Later, her family moved to Berea, Kentucky. Mary Ellen attended Berea College from 1871 to 1874. This college was special because it was the first in Kentucky to allow Black students. While studying there, she also taught instrumental music. This made her the first African American to teach white students at Berea.
After her parents passed away in 1874, Mary Ellen left Berea to find work. She began teaching in the Lexington School System around 1876 and taught until 1897.
A Champion for Change
After leaving Berea, Mary Ellen Britton taught in several schools in central Kentucky. She worked hard to improve teaching methods in African American schools. In 1879, she presented a paper called "Literary Culture of the Teacher" at a meeting of the Kentucky Negro Education Association (KNEA).
In 1887, at another KNEA convention, she gave two speeches. In one speech, titled "Woman's Suffrage: A Potent Agency in Public Reform," she spoke out for women's right to vote. She believed that women, like men, should have the right to help make laws. She wrote: "If woman is the same as man then she has the same rights... if she is distinct from man then she has a right to the ballot to help make laws for her government."
In 1892, Mary Ellen Britton spoke to the Kentucky General Assembly. She was part of a group of women protesting a "Separate Coach bill," which would force Black people to sit in separate train cars. She argued that laws based only on race were unfair and un-American. She reminded lawmakers of the terrible history of slavery and how wrong it was to punish an entire group of people just because of their skin color.
That same year, Britton and 19 other women started the Ladies Orphans' Home Society. This group raised money to create the Colored Orphan Industrial Home in Lexington. This home provided food, shelter, education, and training for children who had lost their parents and for elderly homeless women.
In 1893, Mary Ellen Britton challenged racial segregation at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. She wanted to see if the Kentucky building at the Exposition would allow Black visitors. Her brave act of standing up against white supremacy at the entrance was widely reported.
Becoming a Doctor
In 1897, Mary Ellen Britton stopped teaching. She went to the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. There, she learned about different health treatments. These included hydrotherapy (water therapy), phototherapy (light therapy), thermotherapy (heat therapy), electrotherapy (electrical therapy), and mechanotherapy (mechanical therapy). These were health principles supported by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which she belonged to.
She also took classes at the American Medical Missionary College and in Chicago. She graduated in 1902. After returning home, she became the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in Lexington, Kentucky. About a year later, she built her own home and office at 545 North Limestone Street. She practiced medicine there for over twenty years.
Other Contributions
Mary Ellen Britton was a founding member of the Kentucky Negro Education Association, formed in 1877. This group worked to improve schools for African American children and bring about changes through laws. She also served as President of the Lexington Woman's Improvement Club. This club aimed to uplift women and improve homes. For many years, the Club ran a Day Nursery for the children of working mothers.
She also wrote for several newspapers, sharing her ideas on moral and social reform. Her writings appeared in local papers like the Lexington American Citizen and the Lexington Daily Transcript. She even had a regular women's column in the Lexington Herald, signed "Meb." She also wrote for newspapers in other cities, such as the Cleveland Gazette and the Indianapolis World.
Later Life and Legacy
Dr. Britton never married or had children. Most of her siblings passed away before her.
Mary Ellen Britton died on August 27, 1925, in Lexington's St. Joseph Hospital. The Blue Grass Medical Society honored her work and character in the Lexington Leader newspaper. Her funeral was held at her home and office. She was buried in Lexington's segregated Greenwood Cemetery, now called Cove Haven. She left most of her belongings to her sister Julia and Julia's sons. She also gave her library to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Mary Ellen Britton is remembered as a pioneering doctor, a dedicated teacher, and a brave activist who fought for equality and justice throughout her life.
See also
In Spanish: Mary E. Britton para niños
