Eleanor L. Makel
Eleanor L. Makel | |
|---|---|
 Eleanor L. Makel, from a 1963 publication of the United States Civil Service Commission. | |
| Born | March 17, 1914 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 1, 1992 Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | medical doctor, hospital administrator, federal official |
| Known for | 1963 Federal Woman's Award recipient |
Eleanor L. Makel (March 7, 1914 – March 1, 1992) was a medical doctor, a hospital administrator, and a government official. During the administration of John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Makel was one of the highest ranking black women in the federal government.
Early life[edit]
Eleanor Lewis Makel was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Alexander E. Makel and Florence (Flora) Lewis Makel. Her parents ran a clothing store; her mother was active in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and in the Progressive Business Association.[1][2] Eleanor Makel attended Howard University, graduating in 1938.[3] In 1943 she graduated from Meharry Medical College.[4][5][6]
Career[edit]
Makel was the first woman doctor admitted to a residency in internal medicine at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington.[7] She also worked at the District of Columbia Health Department, and in the student health program at Howard University, early in her career.[5] She was a medical officer in the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, based at St. Elizabeths Hospital from 1953.[8] She was the first black person to hold a professional staff position at the hospital.[9]
In 1963 Makel was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award,[7] presented to career federal employees who made significant contributions to their programs.[10] Makel was one of the highest ranking African-American women in the federal government during the Kennedy administration.[11] By 1971[12] she was Director of the Medical and Surgical Branch at St. Elizabeths.[13] In 1980, she was among the hospital administrators accused of discriminatory promotion in the lawsuit Daye v. Harris.[14] She gave an oral history interview about her career in medicine and government in 1983, for the Women in the Federal Government Oral History Project at Harvard University.[11][15]
Makel also held a teaching position at the George Washington University School of Medicine.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Eleanor L. Makel married Gerald E. Roberts, a law librarian.[9] She died in 1992, aged 77 years, in Washington, D.C.[16]
References[edit]
- ^ Hawkins, John Russell (1916). Centennial Encyclopedia of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. A. M. E. Church. p. 154.
- ^ "Progressive Business Association Hold Public Session". Philadelphia Tribune. February 24, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "Office, Dean of Liberal Arts School, Releases List of Students Qualifying for Honor Roll". The Hilltop. October 27, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
- ^ "Women Physicians Graduated from Meharry Medical College, 1891-1967" Journal of the National Medical Association (March 1968): 155.
- ^ a b "Dr. Eleanor Makel To Be Cited During Federal Woman's Award". Chicago Defender. April 17, 1963. p. 15 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "71 Will Graduate at Meharry Today". The Tennessean. June 6, 1943. p. 48. Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Dr. Makel Winner of Federal Award". Baltimore Afro American. April 16, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "People". Jet: 43. May 9, 1963.
- ^ a b Dunnigan, Alice A. (May 3, 1963). "Woman Physician Wins Many 'Firsts'". Alabama Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Award to Honor 6 Women". The Courier-Journal. April 7, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Women in the federal government oral history project - The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ La Hay, Wauhillau (December 18, 1971). "Potomac Patter". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 6. Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Earl g. Graves, Ltd (January 1974). "Blacks in Government". Black Enterprise: 25.
- ^ "Marian Aldena Daye, Appellant, v. Patricia R. Harris, Secretary, Department of Health Andhuman Services, 655 F.2d 258 (D.C. Cir. 1981)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
- ^ Morantz-Sanchez, Regina (2005-10-12). Sympathy and Science: Women Physicians in American Medicine. Univ of North Carolina Press. pp. xxviii. ISBN 9780807876084.
- ^ "Obituary Listing". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 271 (6): 472f. 1994-02-09. doi:10.1001/jama.1994.03510300080044. ISSN 0098-7484.