Robert F. Boyd

Robert Fulton Boyd (July 8, 1855 – July 20, 1912) was an African-American medical doctor, professor, politician, and one of the co-founders of the National Medical Association, serving as its first president between 1895 and 1898. He also researched the effects of racial segregation in healthcare.

Early life and education Boyd was born in Pulaski, Tennessee, on July 8, 1855, to two slave parents, Maria Coffey and Edward Boyd. His mother was moved south during the American Civil War, returning in 1866 to take Boyd and his younger brother to Nashville, where Boyd was sent to live with surgeon and confederate veteran Paul F. Eve.

During this time, Boyd attended night classes at Old Fisk School (now Fisk University) while working during the day Boyd noted the comparably higher mortality rates of African-Americans in cities in the south, and published a study containing some of the earliest observations regarding the disparity in health outcomes of African-Americans, and suggested medical solutions to the problems he identified. Towards the end of the 19th century, he was offered the office of surgeon-in-chief at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C. Towards the end of his life, he had surgical clinics in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee.

Personal life Boyd never married nor had children.