Dr. Ulysses Grant Bourne
American physician and civic leader, activist
(March 17, 1873–1956)
(March 17, 1873–1956)
Dr. Ulysses Grant Bourne was born in Island Creek, Calvert County, Maryland, on March 17, 1873, the ninth of ten children to Lewis and Emily Bourne. In 1902, he graduated from Leonard Medical College (now Shaw University) in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Being African American in the Jim Crow era of segregation, Bourne was not allowed to practice at Frederick City Hospital, Maryland (now Frederick Memorial Hospital). So, in 1903, he set up his practice accepting both African American and white patients. He made house calls using a horse and buggy. Patients who were not able to afford his services would give him meat and produce as payment. He delivered 2,600 babies during his 50-year career. In 1919, Dr. Bourne and Charles Brooks established the Hospital for Blacks. It was the only hospital in Frederick, Maryland that accepted African Americans until 1928.
Dr. Bourne was very active in civic affairs. In 1931, he founded the Maryland Negro Medical Society, and in 1934 he co-founded the Frederick County Branch of the NAACP and served as its president for 20 years. Bourne became the first African American man from western Maryland to run for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. He also served as the regional vice president of the sixth Republican district. When he and his friends were not allowed to enter the front door of the only opera house in Frederick, they opened their own opera house. Bourne was a trustee of Asbury Methodist Church in Frederick for 50 years. He was also an active member of the Masonic Lodge. Dr. Bourne retired in 1953, and he died three years later.
All three of Dr. Bourne’s children became involved in medicine. In 1961, his son Ulysses Grant Bourne Jr. became the first African American doctor to have privileges at Frederick Memorial Hospital, while his daughter Gladys (Thornton) became a nurse. Daughter, Blanche Bourne-Tyree was a pediatrician and public health administrator in Washington, D.C., for 40 years.
Additional Resources
“A closer look at Dr. Ulysses Grant Bourne” (Frederick News Post, December 19, 2007)
