Two new plaques to honour Toronto’s first Black doctors were unveiled by Heritage Toronto, as part of the program’s priority to highlight underrepresented stories.
The special event was held on Thursday.
The first plaque is dedicated to American-born Dr. Alexander Augusta who was the first Black person to receive a medical licence in Canada. He was excluded from American medical schools but accepted to Toronto’s Trinity College in 1853, earning his licence in 1860.
Dr. Alexander Augusta in military uniform, circa 1863. (Courtesy: Oblate Sisters of Providence Archives)
While studying, he ran a drugstore on Yonge St. and his wife, Mary, was one of few Black women in Toronto to own and run a business.
The second plaque is in honour of Dr. Anderson Abbott. He was born in Toronto to parents who fled racial violence in Alabama in 1834. In Toronto, his father supported Black political causes and ran for city council.
Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott in military uniform, USA, circa 1863. (Courtesy: Toronto Public Library)
Abbott studied at University College and the Toronto School of Medicine, earning his licence in 1862 after apprenticing for Dr. Augusta.
He became the first licensed Black doctor to be born in Canada.
Both doctors served in the U.S. Civil War, and devoted much of their time advocating for equality in the U.S. and Canada, while facing racism within their professions and broader society.
In 1864 the two men were invited to a party during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, marking them as some of the earliest Black guests at the White House.
Augusta’s plaque will be installed at the corner of College St. and Queen’s Park Cr., and Abbot’s plaque will be in Doctors’ Parkette in downtown Toronto.
The public will be able to view both plaques in May.
