Aiken, South Carolina (May 13, 1872- November 17, 1935) age 63 yrs

Matilda Arabella Evans, M.D., was the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina. She was an advocate for improved health care for African Americans, particularly children. She treated both white and black patients. As a result, her services were in great demand. She built up a large clientele of wealthy white women. They paid her enough to allow her to treat poor black women and children for free. Her large and rare interracial clientele were built up due to her great discretion and professionalism. She practiced obstetrics, gynecology, and surgery, and cared for patients in her own home until she established the Taylor Lane Hospital and Training School for Nurses, the first black hospital in the city of Columbia, in 1901