Patricia Bath was born in Harlem, New York in 1942. As a child, she was very interested in science. Once her mother bought her science kit, she got even more excited and decided that she wanted to become an ophthalmologist, which is an eye doctor that treats all eye conditions and performs eye surgeries.
Patricia Bath earned her Degree From Howard University College Of Medicine in Washington D.C. As she was learning more about the eye she learned that African American people were more likely to go blind or have different issues with their eyes. Because of this, Bath started the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness. She was the first woman faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute, and the first woman who was chair of the ophthalmology residency training program at Drew-UCLA. She even invented what was called the Laserphaco which helped to get rid of cataracts and help people who were blind to see again.
We have an extra printable activity to help you learn about how the eye works!
