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Contribution #226 of 365
John S. Rock
Dentist, Physician, Lawyer and Professional Pioneer
1850–1865
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born free in New Jersey in 1825, John S. Rock built successive professional careers as a dentist, physician and lawyer despite racial restrictions on education and practice. He established medical and dental practices serving Boston's Black community and became the first Black attorney admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1865. Rock's career expanded Black participation in medicine, law and professional enterprise before the Civil War.