(April 18, 1813 – November 17, 1865) was an American physician, apothecary, abolitionist and author.
He was the first African American to earn a medical degree
His M.D. was awarded by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland.
After his return to the United States, he also became the first African American to own and run a pharmacy in the nation.
He was also the first African American to have their work published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
He practiced as a physician for nearly 20 years at the Colored Orphanage.
He also contributed articles to medical journals, participated in learned societies, and wrote numerous essays and articles drawing from his medical and statistical training.
He used his training in medicine and statistics to refute common misconceptions about race, intelligence, medicine, and society in general. He was invited as a founding member of the New York Statistics Society in 1852, which promoted a then new science.
Later he was elected as a member in 1854 of the recently founded American Geographic Society.
After the orphanage was burned down in July 1863 by a mob, Dr. Smith moved his family and practice to Brooklyn for their safety.
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