Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott Canada’s first black physician

On My Walk: Honouring Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott — Canada’s First Black Physician

On my walk through Toronto’s oldest cemetery, the Necropolis, not far from the grave of famed Canadian rower Ned Hanlan, I discovered the family plot of Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada’s first Black-born physician and a true trailblazer.

Dr. Abbott was born in Toronto on April 7, 1837 to Wilson and Ellen Abbott, free people of colour who had emigrated from Alabama. The Abbott family quickly established themselves as one of Toronto’s most prominent Black families. Wilson Abbott became a successful businessman and real estate owner, holding 48 properties by 1871—a remarkable feat for anyone in that era, let alone a Black man in 19th-century Canada.

Thanks to his family’s stability and ambition, Anderson was afforded an excellent education, studying at some of the top schools in both Canada and the United States. In 1861, he completed his medical training at the Toronto School of Medicine (which would later be affiliated with the University of Toronto) and received his license to practice from the Medical Board of Upper Canada, officially becoming the first Canadian-born Black physician.

But Dr. Abbott’s achievements didn’t stop at Canada’s borders. In 1894, he was appointed surgeon-in-chief at Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first U.S. hospital to train Black nurses—a groundbreaking role in American medical history.

One of the most compelling and little-known parts of Dr. Abbott’s story is his connection to President Abraham Lincoln. During the American Civil War, Abbott served as a civilian surgeon with the Union Army. On April 14, 1865, after Lincoln was shot by an assassin, Abbott was one of the few doctors allowed to attend to the dying President. He accompanied Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln’s friend and dressmaker, as they kept vigil during Lincoln’s final hours.

In a deeply personal gesture of gratitude, Mary Lincoln later sent Dr. Abbott the houndstooth shawl that her husband had worn to his inauguration—a cherished symbol of honour and connection to history.

1837-1913

Photo of Anderson Abbott serving in the American Civil War and his wife Mary Ann Abbott (1863).