Gertrude Curtis
African-American suffragist and dentist
Gertrude Elizabeth Curtis (March 1, 1880 – August 3, 1973), also known as Gertrude Curtis McPherson, was an American dentist. She had a longtime practice in Harlem.
Early life and education
Curtis was from Bradford, Pennsylvania, and was the daughter of Stephen Curtis and Agnes Elizabeth Curtis. Her father was a barber. She graduated from the New York College of Dental and Oral Surgery in 1909, becoming the first black woman to gain a dentistry license in New York State.
Career
Soon after completing her dental education, Curtis ran a weekly dental clinic at Bellevue Hospital. She had a dental practice in Harlem for many years.
Curtis was active in politics and civic organizations. She served as a delegate to the 1918 Republican State Convention in Saratoga, and represented the Roosevelt Colored Women's Republican Club at the 1920 Republican National Convention in Chicago. She was president of the Business and Professional Women's Club in Harlem in 1932.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gertrude Curtis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.