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Contribution #63 of 365
Dr. Robert Tanner Freeman
First Black American to Earn a U.S. Dental Degree
1869
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Dr. Robert Tanner Freeman graduated from Harvard's dental school in 1869, becoming the first Black American to receive a dental degree from an academic institution in the United States. His achievement helped open professional dentistry to generations previously excluded from formal dental education.