"Edith Irby Jones" (December 23,1927)

Was the first African American to attend and to graduate from the University of Arkansas medical school,now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).in Little Rock (Pulaski County).Not only was she a pioneer in the desegregation of higher education in Arkansas and the South,but she also has served as highly successful doctor,educator,philanthropist in Arkansas,Texas,and overseas.She was born near Conway (Faulkner County) to Robert Irby,a sharecropper,and Mattie Buice Irby,a maid.Her father died when she was eight,and the family moved to Hot Springs (Garland County).Edith's older sister died of typhoid fever at the age of twelve,largely due to her impoverished family's lack of access to medical attention.Edith suffered from when she was seven,making her joints so painful that she unable to walk or attend school for a year.These experiences prompted her to seek a career in medicine,with the goal of helping those who could not afford standard medical care.Edith graduated from Langston Secondary School in Hot Springs in 1944 and earned a scholarship to Knoxville College in Knoxville,Tennessee.She majored in chemistry,biology,and physics.Upon graduation,she applied to three medical schools:Northwestern University in Evanston,Illinois,the University of Chicago,and UAM).