Photograph portrait of Alonzo Potter Burgess Holly, M.D.
Dr. Alonzo Potter Burgess Holly, M.D. (1865-1943) was the first black man to graduate from the New York Medical College. He championed efforts to improve access to quality medical care in Haiti while practicing medicine in New York then in Florida.
Birth: September 21, 1865
Death: November 28, 1943
Education:
Dr. Alonzo Potter Burgess Holly, M.D. (1865-1943), had a remarkable life and left his mark on the history of the New York Medical College in multiple ways. As the first black man to graduate from the college, he made history for the institution.
Son of the founder and first bishop of the Orthodox Apostolic Church of Haiti, Dr. Holly was born in Haiti. His religious upbringing had a significant impact on his life and goals, leading to his attendance at the University of Cambridge where he focused on classical and religious subjects. However, after graduating from the university in 1882, he made the choice to pursue medical practice instead.
He graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College with the class of 1888 as the first black man to graduate from the college. Shortly after graduating, he began efforts to promote improvements to the quality of and access to medical care in Haiti. In a letter to the editor for the 1888-1889 issue of the Chironian, he shared the experiences he had and observed as a child in Haiti while urging his class members to contribute to efforts to improve medical disparities in the country. Specifically, he aimed to form a new branch of the New York Homeopathic Medical College in Haiti, which was supported by many students and faculty members. While no physical branch of the New York Medical College has ever been established in Haiti, the college has participated directly in medical missions, emergency relief efforts, and medical care for asylum seekers.
He spent some years after graduating in New York, but eventually returned to Haiti. He worked as counsel for Haiti to the Bahamas before returning to the United States, this time to Miami Florida. He established and continued his medical practice in Miami for the remainder of his career. In 1938, he returned to New York to receive his gold diploma from New York Medical College, an award presented to those having graduated from the school 50 years prior. As he was the first black man to graduate from the college, he was the first black man to receive this award.
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