13 Notable alumni of Meharry Medical College
Updated: June 12, 2026 EliteDegrees
Meharry Medical College is ranked #2,085 in the world and #521 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 13 notable alumni from Meharry Medical College sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Meharry Medical College won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Walter R. Tucker, Jr
1924-1990 (aged 66)
politician
scientist
Walter Rayford Tucker Jr. was an American dentist and politician who served nine years as the Mayor of Compton, California.
2. Georgia Rooks Dwelle
1884-1977 (aged 93)
physician
obstetrician
Georgia Rooks Dwelle was an African-American physician in Atlanta, Georgia who specialized in obstetrics and pediatrics. When Dwelle was licensed as a physician in 1904, she was one of only three African American women physicians in the state of Georgia. Dwelle began to practice medicine at a time when Jim Crow laws and social customs in Georgia required racial segregation...
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3. John Angelo Lester
1858-1934 (aged 76)
physician
academic administrator
educator
John Angelo Lester was an American educator, physician and administrator in Nashville, Tennessee between 1895 and 1934. He was a professor of physiology at Meharry Medical College and was named Professor Emeritus in 1930. Lester served as an executive officer in the National Medical Association and various state and regional medical associations throughout Tennessee, a mecca for African-American physicians since...
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4. Eleanor L. Makel
1914-1992 (aged 78)
civil servant
medic
Eleanor L. Makel 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.
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5. Dorothy Lavinia Brown
1919-2004 (aged 85)
writer
teacher
politician
surgeon
Dr Dorothy Lavinia Brown, also known as "Dr. D.", was an African-American surgeon, legislator, and teacher. She was the first female surgeon of African-American ancestry from the Southeastern United States. She was also the first African American female to serve in the Tennessee General Assembly as she was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. While serving in the House...
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6. Audrey F. Manley
1934-. (aged 92)
academic administrator
pediatrician
Audrey Forbes Manley is an American pediatrician and public health administrator. Manley was the first African-American woman appointed as chief resident at Cook County Children's Hospital in Chicago (1962), as well as the first to achieve the rank of Assistant Surgeon General (Rear Admiral) in 1988. She later served as the eighth president of Spelman College.
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7. Carlton Benjamin Goodlett
1914-1997 (aged 83)
newspaper proprietor
physician
Carlton Benjamin Goodlett was an American physician, newspaper publisher, political power broker, and civil rights leader in San Francisco, California. From 1951 until his death, he was the owner of Reporter Publishing Company, which published the Sun-Reporter, the California Voice, and seven other regional African-American weeklies in Northern California. Goodlett maintained a busy medical practice in his newspaper office until...
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8. Monroe Alpheus Majors
1864-1960 (aged 96)
editor
civil rights advocate
writer
journalist
physician
Monroe Alpheus Majors was an American physician, writer and civil rights activist in Texas and Los Angeles. He was one of the first black physicians in the American southwest and established a medical association for black physicians who were not allowed entry into the American Medical Association. He wrote a noted book of biographies of African-American women, Noted Negro Women:...
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9. Miles Vandahurst Lynk
1871-1956 (aged 85)
physician
Miles Vandahurst Lynk was an American physician and author noted for his efforts to create opportunities for African Americans in science, specifically for medical doctors. He was known both as the founder, editor and publisher of Medical and Surgical Observer (the first medical journal issued by an African American), as well as founding the University of West Tennessee College of...
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10. Jacob Javan Durham
1849-1920 (aged 71)
Christian minister
Jacob Javan Durham was an American minister, educator, debater and orator, and the founder of a college. He was a Baptist minister in South Carolina, and the founder of Morris College in 1908. He was a member of the board at Morehouse College and an officer in state and national Baptist conventions.
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11. Arikana Chihombori-Quao
physician
entrepreneur
diplomat
lecturer
Arikana Chihombori-Quao is a medical doctor and activist. She is a public speaker, educator, diplomat, founder of medical clinics, and an entrepreneur. She moved to the United States after living many years in Zimbabwe. She is the CEO and founder of Bell Family Medical Centers in the United States, and served as the African Union representative to the US from...
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12. Emerson Emory
1925-2003 (aged 78)
psychiatrist
physician
Emerson Emory was an American internist and psychiatrist from Dallas, Texas. Aspiring to be a doctor from an early age, he attended Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College before serving in the Quartermaster Corps of the United States Army during World War II. After studying at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, Emory conducted...
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13. Hastings Banda
diplomat
physician
politician
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was a Malawian politician who served as the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was a Dominion/Commonwealth realm. In 1966, the country became a republic and he became the first president as a result, ruling until his defeat in 1994.
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