359: Patricia Bath
Ophthalmologist & Laser Scientist
Born: 4 November 1942, New York City, New York, United States of America
Died: 30 May 2019, San Francisco, California, United States of America
Patricia invented a new way of doing cataract surgery (called laserphaco).
She was the first female ophthalmologist to be appointed to the faculty at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine’s Jules Stein Eye Institute.
She was also the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the United States, and the first African American Female Scientist to earn a medical patent in the United States.
In 1976, Patricia helped found the nonprofit organization American Institute For the Prevention of Blindness.
Two months before her death, she testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee focusing on women inventors and “the Future of American Innovation” (Per the New York Times linked below).
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
Women in Science by Rachel Ignatofsky
Sources:
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_26.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/obituaries/dr-patricia-bath-dead.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/199790271/patricia-era-bath