Myra Adele Logan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Myra Adele Logan
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Myra Logan, at patient bedside, Harlem Hospital
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| Born | 1908 Tuskegee, Alabama, US
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| Died | January 13, 1977 (aged 68–69) New York City, US
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| Known for | first woman to perform open heart surgery |
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| Profession | surgeon |
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Myra Adele Logan (1908 – January 13, 1977) was an amazing American doctor. She was a surgeon and anatomist. She is famous for being the first African American woman to perform a successful open-heart surgery.
After this big achievement, Dr. Logan worked a lot on heart surgery for children. She also helped create a special medicine called Aureomycin. This medicine helped treat many diseases caused by bacteria and viruses. Most of her medical work happened at the Harlem Hospital in New York City.
Dr. Logan went to medical school before the Civil Rights era. It was very hard for African American women to become doctors back then. Despite these challenges, she achieved great things. Besides her medical work, she also helped organizations like the NAACP. She also worked with the New York State Commission on Discrimination.
Contents
About Myra Logan
Early Life and Education
Myra Adele Logan was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1908. She was the youngest of eight children. Her parents were Warren and Adella Hunt Logan. Her mother was a college graduate. She cared a lot about women's right to vote and health care. Her father was a leader at Tuskegee Institute. He was the first staff member chosen by Booker T. Washington.
Myra went to Tuskegee's Laboratory, the Children's House for primary school. She graduated with honors from Tuskegee High School. Then, she went to Atlanta University, a historically Black college. She was the best student in her class when she graduated in 1927.
After that, she moved to New York. She earned a Master of Science degree in psychology from Columbia University. She worked for the YWCA in Connecticut for a while. Then, she decided to become a doctor. Myra Logan was the first person to get a special scholarship. This scholarship helped African American medical students attend New York Medical College. She finished medical school in 1933. She was the second African American woman to intern at Harlem Hospital in New York. She also completed her surgery training there.
Life at Harlem Hospital
While working at Harlem Hospital, Myra Logan met Charles Alston. He was a painter. They got married on April 8, 1944. Charles Alston was painting a mural at the hospital. A mural is a large painting on a wall. He used Myra as a model for his painting called Modern Medicine.
In this painting, Myra appears as a nurse holding a baby. The painting showed that there were not many African American doctors at that time. It also showed the important role of women in healthcare. Charles Alston included her alongside Dr. Louis T. Wright. Dr. Wright was the first African American doctor at Harlem Hospital. The painting showed how Western medicine was advancing. It featured African American and Caucasian healthcare workers together. This mural has been restored. You can see it at the Harlem Hospital Gallery today.
Later Years
Outside of her busy medical career, Myra Logan was also a talented classical pianist. She retired from medicine in 1970. After retiring, she served on the New York State Workmen's Compensation Board. Myra Logan passed away on January 13, 1977. She was 68 years old.
Medical Achievements
Pioneering Surgery
Myra Adele Logan spent most of her career as a surgeon at the Harlem Hospital. She was also a visiting surgeon at Sydenham Hospital. On top of that, she had her own private medical practice. In 1943, Dr. Logan made history. She became the first woman to perform a successful open-heart bypass surgery. This was only the ninth such surgery ever done in the world at that time.
After this, she focused her work on heart surgery for children. She also helped develop the antibiotic Aureomycin.
Developing New Medicines
Dr. Logan worked with a team of doctors. They successfully treated 25 patients with a disease called lymphogranuloma venereum. They used the new medicine, Aureomycin. After just four days of treatment, many patients showed improvement. Dr. Logan published these important results in medical journals. She also worked with Dr. Louis T. Wright on antibiotic research.
Breast Cancer Research
In the 1960s, Dr. Logan dedicated her time to finding better ways to treat breast cancer. Her research helped improve X-ray technology. This new technology could detect tiny differences in body tissue. This made it easier to find breast cancer and other tumors much earlier. Early detection is very important for successful treatment.
Community Involvement
Myra Logan was also very involved in social issues. She was a member of the New York State Committee on Discrimination. She also worked with the NAACP. In 1944, she and seven other members resigned from a state commission. This happened when the governor did not support anti-discrimination laws they had written. Even after retiring in 1970, she continued to serve her community. She worked on the New York State Workmen's Compensation Board.
Images for kids
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Detail of Charles Alston's Modern Medicine (oil on canvas) in Harlem Hospital. Logan was a medical intern at the hospital then and served as a model for the mural; she appears as a nurse holding a baby.
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Charles Alston's Modern Medicine mural.
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Myra Logan with colleagues at patient bedside, Harlem Hospital, New York, N.Y. From left to right: Lyndon M. Hill, Louis T. Wright, Myra Logan, Aaron Prigot, unidentified African-American woman patient, and unidentified hospital employee.
See also
In Spanish: Myra Adele Logan para niños
