Anderson Ruffin Abbott

Anderson Ruffin Abbott was born in Toronto to affluent free Black American immigrant parents. Abbott attended the Toronto School of Medicine and in 1861 received his license to practice medicine from the Medical Board of Upper Canada, becoming the first Canadian-born Black physician in history.

During the American Civil War, Abbott volunteered as a civilian contract surgeon with the Union Army, treating wounded soldiers in Washington, D.C. He became close friends with President Abraham Lincoln; when Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, Abbott stood vigil at the Petersen House bedside, with Mary Todd Lincoln later presenting him with Lincoln's plaid shawl. Returning to Ontario, he served as coroner for Kent County.