Lucy Hughes Brown

Lucy Hughes Brown (April 12, 1863 – June 26, 1911) was the first African-American woman physician licensed to practice in both North Carolina She went on to study at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, graduating with her medical degree in 1894. She was also a delegate of the National Federation of Afro-American Women and attended their conference in Washington DC in 1896.

Poetry After graduating from Scotia Seminary, Hughes began writing poetry. Her two most notable poems are called "Thoughts on Retiring" and "A Retrospective".

Career Lucy Hughes Brown was granted her license to practice in North Carolina in May 1894, and was one of three women who were licensed that year. Hughes Brown was the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina. Brown practiced medicine in Wilmington, North Carolina for two years, and then in 1896 she and her husband moved to Charleston, SC. She was also South Carolina's first African American woman physician.

She joined with other black professionals—including Dr. Alonzo Clifton McClennan—to cofound the Canon Hospital and Training School for Nurses in 1897. At the Canon Hospital and Training school, she taught Obstetrical Nursing and Care of Infants. At the time of Hughes Brown's death, the family had moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Reverend David Brown taught at Biddle University, a “Presbyterian school for males”