Noted as the first African American physician ever in the United States, Dr. James Durham (some sources say Derham) broke the barrier in medicine.
Back in 1802, Durham went missing and would never be seen again. Some folks say that he was likely murdered because of his success as a black man at a time that was frowned upon; others held out hope that he left Philadelphia in order to go practice medicine somewhere out there in the world.
Durham was born in 1762 in the city of Philadelphia and spent most of his early life as a slave; his slaveowners were actually doctors. Dr. John Kearsley was the owner who taught Durham how to read and write in both French and Spanish. In addition, Kearsley would teach him about the basics of pharmacy, giving Durham a wealth of on-the-job training.
Unfortunately, Kearsley would go on to die in 1776, so Durham (at age 15) would be sold to
Dr. George West. This man would continue helping Durham in the medicinal field until the age of 21 when he was sold to Dr. Robert Dow, a wealthy Scottish-born doctor living in New Orleans.
Despite being his owner, Dow would become a mentor to Durham and help him perfect his later training as a physician. Dow allowed Durham to work on patients of different races while working with him, making it the first documented occurrence of a black person operating on a patient.
In 1783 Durham was either released or he paid for his liberation through money made from the patients he treated but before long, Durham started his own independent practice.
By the year 1788, Durham had enough connections from his work over the years that he would become infamous for his work in diphtheria, a serious infection within the membranes of the throat and nose.
Durham would go on to impress Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, who would offer him the opportunity to open a practice. It wasn’t immediately that Durham went back to Philly, as he did stay in New Orleans to help save numerous lives during the yellow fever epidemic that swept the city.
After helping the city of New Orleans, Durham eventually came back to Philly and took Rush up on his offer. Unfortunately, in 1801, Pennsylvania regulations restricted people from practicing without a formal degree; however, in secrecy, Durham would continue to practice medicine until he mysteriously disappeared in 1802.