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Mary Eliza Mahoney by Unknown Arthur/

10 Best Facts about Mary Eliza Mahoney

Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first black nurse in the United States to complete her profession, she changed the course of American nursing forever in 1879. Mahoney was born in Dorchester Massachusetts to two freed slaves from North Carolina. Mary Eliza was known to have a ferocious work ethic. As well as being acknowledged as an excellent nurse she made a mark in the world as an activist for the rights of minority nurses and African American women. Mahoney became the first black woman to graduate from a nursing program and the first to earn a professional nursing license. Mahoney from a young age knew she wanted to be a nurse, after seeing the immediate emergence of nurses during the American Civil War.

Mahoney joined the newly formed and primarily white Nurses association Alumnae of the United States and Canada later known as the American Nurses Association (ANA). Mary received numerous awards and honors in her name, she left a legacy that is crucial today she fought for the women of color educational and professional rights of minorities. Ms. Mahoney gave the opening speech at the first National Convention of the NACGN and the organization elected her the national chaplain and awarded her a lifetime membership. Mahoney succumbed to breast cancer admitted to the New England Hospital at the age of eighty-one.

1. She began working as a Nurse at the age of 20

Nurse by Obi/

Mary Mahoney is the eldest of three siblings born in Dorchester Massachusetts, both her parents were among the Southern Free blacks who moved to North Carolina before the Civil war. She attended the Philips Street School in Boston, and Mahoney became the first black woman to graduate from a nursing program and the first to earn a professional nurse license. She began working as a nurse at the age of twenty as a nurse and took janitorial duties at New England  Hospital for Women and children to be able to pay for her education.

She was among 42 students admitted into the New England Hospital training school for Nurses in Boston. Mary is believed to be among the three people in her class to complete the challenging 16-month program where she was allowed to see six patients at a time. After Graduation she remained in Boston and became a private duty nurse, after receiving her diploma she become the first black American professional nurse and joined the ranks of famous nurses in history.

2. She was the first black woman to be a professional nurse

Injection by Mika Baumeister/

Mary Mahoney started her nursing career at a very young age, out of a class of forty Mary graduated as one of the three-four students to complete an intensive program and became the first black professional nurse. She worked as a private nurse in the homes of wealthy white families concentrating on white mothers and their newborn babies. Mary took up the position of supervisor at the Howard Orphan Asylum for black children in New York after which she retired in Boston. Nurse Mahoney was praised for her efficiency and calm approach and her reputation spread to the extent that she received calls for her services from across many U.S states.

Ms. Mahoney chose to work privately due to the ferocious discrimination against blacks in public nursing. The White Families she worked for praised her and she gained a reputation as a first-class nurse, despite discrimination. Mahoney took pride in her work, driven by the belief that it was important to prove that there was no place for discrimination in the nursing profession. She dedicated all her strength and effort to her work and never married, after her career she became the director of a black orphanage in New York.

3. The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN)

Ms. Mahoney became one of the original members of a predominantly white Nurses Associated Alumnae if the United States and Canada (NAAUSC) which later became the American Nurses Association (ANA). The NAAUSC did not welcome African American nurses into their Association, Mahoney fought with the help of Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah B. Thoms and co-founded a new more welcoming nurse’s association and become the co-founder of the NACGN. The association did not segregate anyone and aimed to support and applaud the qualification of outstanding nurses and to defeat racial discrimination in the nursing community.

Mary delivered the welcome address in which she made a passionate plea against inequalities in nursing education and called for demonstrations to grant more African American students into nursing school. The NACGN entrenched the Mary Mahoney award to recognize contributions to advancing the interests of black nurses. Today the ANA presents the award in recognition of an individual nurse or group of nurses for special efforts toward increasing diversity.

4. Mahoney is a known legend with numerous awards

Eliza Mahoney is a legend who was recognized with numerous awards and memorials, The National Association for Colored Graduate Nurses founded the Mary Mahoney award to honor her achievements. This award is still there up today awarded by the American Nurse Association. The AHA further honored Mahoney by inducting her into their hall of fame. She joined another acclaimed women’s group when she was inducted into the National Women’s hall of fame in Seneca Falls New York.

The grave of one famous first black nurse in Everett Massachusetts has become a memorial site, Helen. S Miller one of the Mahoney Award winners led fundraising to erect a monument to Mahoney’s gravesite. There is a Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Centre at Oklahoma City and the Mary Eliza Mahoney Dialysis Centre on Boston’s Women’s heritage trail.

5. She was a civil rights activist 

Even after retirement Mahoney still fought the concerns of women’s equality and actively participated in the advancement of civil rights in the United States, she was a strong supporter of women’s suffrage ad in 1920 it was achieved in the U.S and Mahoney was among the first women in Boston to register to vote. The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights under the law in the United States.

Mahoney was a widely recognized pioneer who opened many door opportunities for black women interested in the nursing profession, she became a member of the NACGN later changed into ANA, and became a lifetime member and elected Chaplain. The organization now allows a diversity of nurses to be part of it now African American nurses can be part of the organization. The impression she left on people was amazing helping families and individuals, until her later years when she took to the stage to fight for Women’s Suffrage being among the first women to vote in Boston.

6. American Nurses Association ANA

In today’s world, nurses adapt and evolve to face new challenges in modern health care and the ANA enterprise is doing the same. The ANA enterprise championed the interest of nurses across the board, and every nurse is encouraged to become the best nurse. The Association has four million registered nurses, the ANA is the voice of the U.S. it fosters high standards of nursing practice promoting a safe and ethical work environment. This organization is at the forefront of improving healthcare for all. Mahoney was an active participant in the nursing profession she changed the NAAUSC organization which only allowed white people to join, she felt the need to advocate for the minority group and the equality of African American nurses.

7. Howard Orphanage Asylum

Howard Orphanage and Industrial School by Unknown Arthur/

Mahoney ventured into the private nursing career, after her decade of working as a nurse she became the director of the Howard Orphanage Asylum for black children in Kings Park, Long Island in New York City she served as the director. The orphanage was founded in 1868 it was operated by African Americans, the children there were taught practical skills and were placed out to families when they reached the age of sixteen. The home freed children and others it was founded by Black Presbyterian Minister Henry.M Wilson, and Black widow Sarah. A Tillman and white general Oliver Otis Howard.

The institution was renamed Howard Orphanage, lack of funds and war shortages contributed to the institution’s low coal supply and inability to repair burst pipes due to freezing temperatures. The asylum gradually deteriorated due to a lack of funding and closed in 1918 after an incident involving burst water pipes, which resulted in two students contracting frostbite and having their feet amputated.

8. Eliza Mahoney ratified the Women’s Suffrage

Vote by Element 5 Digital/

Mary Eliza Mahoney registered to vote in Boston’s Ward in August 1920, the very same day that Tennessee authorized the women’s suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. At eighty years old, Mahoney had already waited a long time for the chance Though she had retired before 1920, Mahoney had supported herself throughout her life.  Her voter registration records her trailblazing occupation as a trained nurse. Mahoney was not only part of the first generation of professional nurses in the United States, but the very first Black woman to graduate from a nursing program in the United States.

9. National Women’s hall of Fame

Mary Mahoney was the first Black American woman to study and work as a professionally trained nurse, her high level of performance overpowered racial bias and paved the way for other Black women to enter the profession. Mahoney developed a successful career as a private nurse and as one of the few early Black members of the American Nurses Association. She was a longtime advocate of woman’s suffrage and became one of the women who voted in Boston.

The National Women’s Hall of Fame depends on the public to nominate women who define American history. Each nomination is sent to a national panel of judges who engage in thoughtful work to identify the best possible candidates for the National Women’s Hall of Fame. The Women’s Hall of Fame honors the women of the past, it relates the history of women’s struggles and serves as the voice celebrating the value of women.

10. Mahoney passed away from Breast Cancer

Mahoney became ill with breast cancer, she sought treatment at the same hospital where she qualified as a nurse. She died on January 1926. The profession of nursing did not racially integrate until the 1950s. Black women and men, could not exercise their right to vote in many states for even longer than that. Nurse Mahoney continued to inspire the struggle for equality and inclusion after her death. She’s an inductee of the Women’s National Hall of Fame and the subject of numerous articles, including a long overdue obituary published in 2022 as part of the New York Times Overlooked series.