| 1765 |
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Native-born African American Peter Hawkins, an itinerant preacher in Richmond, Virginia, practiced rudimentary exodontia for parishioners.
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| 1792 |
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Caesar, a slave in South Carolina, used roots and herbs as medical and dental cures.
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| 1851 |
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John S. Rock won a silver medal for making artificial teeth; examples of his work were exhibited by the Benjamin Franklin Institute.
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| 1859 |
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Dr. Roderick Badger of Atlanta, Georgia, was the focus of a petition to the Atlanta Council that required all free black persons to pay $200 to the council.
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| 1869 |
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Robert Tanner Freeman was the first black dentist to receive the D.M.D. degree from Harvard University, the first institution to include dentistry as a university discipline.
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| 1878 |
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George Franklin Grant, the second black to graduate (1870) from Harvard's School of Dental Medicine, was the first black dentist appointed to Harvard's dental faculty.
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| 1883 |
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The first dental class of Howard University College of Dentistry was listed in the 16th annual announcement and catalog of the medical department.
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| 1886 |
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The dental department was organized as a unit of Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee.
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| 1888 |
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Charles Edwin Bentley, D.D.S., a founder of the Niagara Movement, was appointed professor of oral surgery at Harvey Medical College in Chicago, Illinois.
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| 1890 |
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Ida Gray Nelson Rollins was the first black woman to graduate from the University of Michigan dental school; she practiced dentistry in Chicago.
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| 1895 |
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National Negro Medical Association (NMA) of physicians, dentists and pharmacists was organized in Atlanta, Georgia, with Robert F. Boyd, M.D., D.D.S., as the first president.
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| 1900 |
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The first organization of black dentists was the Washington Society of Colored Dentists, founded November 14 in the District of Columbia.
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| 1913 |
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Los Angeles, California, branch of NAACP was organized at the home of Dr. John A. Somerville, first black dental graduate of the University of Southern California.
First meeting of Tri-State Dental Association, predecessor to NDA, was held in Buckroe Beach, Virginia.
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| 1918 |
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Dr. David A. Ferguson became the first dentist elected president of the National Medical Association.
Tri-State Dental Association changed its name to Interstate Dental Association.
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| 1924 |
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Dr. Stephen J. Lewis published the first article on the Negro in dentistry in Opportunity Magazine, official organ of the Urban League.
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| 1927 |
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Members of Interstate Dental Association met at Howard University, Washington, D.C., and changed its name to National Dental Association.
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| 1929 |
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Arnold Donowa, D.D.S., was the first black appointed full-time dean of Howard University College of Dentistry.
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| 1930 |
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U.S. Census listed 1,773 black dentists; 98 percent male.
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| 1932 |
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Roscoe C. Brown, D.D.S., directed the National Negro Health Week Movement, sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service.
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| 1943 |
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Meharry Medical College applied for a chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, national dental honor society.
Bulletin of the National Dental Association established in magazine format by its first editor, Dr. Stephen J. Lewis.
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| 1944 |
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Meharry OKU application rejected because "Meharry was a school for Negro students."
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| 1945 |
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Following full approval by ADA Council on Dental Education, Meharry's School of Dentistry was the first minority school affiliate of OKU and was awarded Omicron Chapter of the national dental honor society.
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| 1946 |
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Dr. Roscoe F. Lee became the first black dentist certified as Diplomate, American Board of Oral Surgery.
Members of R.T. Freeman Dental Society protested being barred from dental supply house instructional course in Washington, D.C., resulting in segregation policy change.
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| 1948 |
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Howard University College of Dentistry granted full approval by ADA Council on Dental Education; Pi Pi Chapter of OKU established.
In reply to a survey of white U.S. dental schools regarding black faculty members, 15 Southern schools stated that there were none, and "regardless of qualifications none would be considered in any teaching capacity."
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| 1951 |
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St. Louis Dental Society of Missouri voted to "invite professionally and ethically qualified Negro dentists" to become fully accredited members.
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| 1952 |
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NDA sponsored publication of The Growth and Development of the Negro in Dentistry in the U.S., the first book devoted to the status and achievements of black American dentists.
The internationally acclaimed First Public Health Institute In The South, an interracial health conference arranged by V.A. Hospital Tuskegee dentists, was convened March 15-20 at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama.
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| 1960 |
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January issue of EBONY magazine featured the faculty, staff and structures of the new $3 million College of Dentistry at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
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| 1961 |
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In Atlanta, Georgia, eight black dentists led by Dr. Roy Bell picketed the annual Thomas P. Hinman dental meeting attended by 1,500 white dentists, but closed to black dentists.
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| 1963 |
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Andrew Z. Kellar, D.D.S., M.P.H., presented "The epidemiology of lip, oral and pharyngeal cancers" at the International Association of Dental Research annual meeting. His paper was published in the American Journal of Public Health.
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| 1964 |
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American Dental Association (ADA) President James P. Hollers announced formation of ADA/NDA Liaison Committee, and the ADA Board of Trustees established it as a permanent committee.
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| 1965 |
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Jointly sponsored by the National Dental Association, American Dental Association and American Association of Dental Schools, the first National Conference on Dental Research and Education, underwritten by Procter & Gamble Co., was held in Washington, D.C.
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| 1966 |
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At the dedication of the ADA building in Chicago, Illinois, on February 27, HEW Secretary John Gardner said that equality is impossible as long as discrimination exists. He declared, "The pace of integration must be speeded up. If moral suasion does not do the job, it must be backed by legal action."
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| 1967 |
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Dr. Van E. Collins was the first black dentist in regular military service to be promoted to the rank of colonel.
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| 1969 |
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National Medical and National Dental associations formed the NMA/NDA Liaison Committee on August 11 in order to pool resources and work for mutual advantages.
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| 1972 |
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On February 28, NDA Board of Trustees approved initiation of an NDA Foundation first proposed on October 22, 1971 by the NDA editor, who was the dental representative on the Board of Directors of the National Medical Association Foundation.
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| 1973 |
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Konnetta Putman was installed as president of the American Dental Hygienists Association at its Golden Anniversary in Houston, Texas. She was the first black American elected to the organization's top office.
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| 1974 |
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Celebrated activist Dr. H. Claude Hudson, one of the oldest NAACP officers, was featured in an article titled "Son of Slave Still Marching in Civil Rights War" that was published in the May 28 issue of the Los Angeles Times.
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| 1983 |
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Only 7,856 candidates took the DAT (Dental Admissions Test), compared to 20,226 in 1975. The greatest decline occurred among African American candidates.
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| 1986 |
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The American College of Dentists published The Hillenbrand Era: Organized Dentistry's Glanzperiode, by Dr. Clifton O. Dummett and Lois D. Dummett. Dr. Dummett was president of the American Academy of the History of Dentistry.
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| 1989 |
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On July 1, Raymond J. Fonseca was appointed dental dean at the University of Pennsylvania.
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| 1990 |
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Joseph L. Henry, D.D.S., Ph.D., dean emeritus, College of Dentistry, Howard University, was appointed interim dean at Harvard University School of Dental Medicine.
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| 1991 |
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Having Our Say: the Delaney Sisters' First Hundred Years was published and catapulted Bessie Delaney, D.D.S., into national celebrity.
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| 1992 |
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Dental Education at Meharry Medical College: Origin and Odyssey was published by Meharry Medical College.
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| 1994 |
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John Maupin, D.D.S., M.B.A., past president of NDA, was appointed president of Meharry Medical College, becoming the first African American dentist to head the institution.
Juliann Bluitt, D.D.S., became the first woman dentist elected president of the American College of Dentists.
Caswell A. Evans, Jr., D.D.S., M.P.H., was the first African American dentist elected president of the American Public Health Association.
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| 1996 |
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NDA formed the Corporate Round Table to increase corporate sponsorship of its professional programs.
Ronald Johnson, D.M.D., was named dental dean at University of Texas Health Science in Houston, Texas.
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| 1997 |
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The August issue of EBONY magazine publicized NDA/Colgate partnership programs; NDA Foundation involvement with "Bright Smiles-Bright Futures" program; and NDA Foundation scholarship, research and training programs.
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| 1998 |
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NDA Foundation took occupancy of NDA headquarters building in Washington, D.C., on May 1 and sponsored its official opening with a Dental Symposium on November 7.
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| 2000 |
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NDA Foundation, supported by Colgate-Palmolive Co., published NDA II: The Story of America's Second National Dental Association.
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| 2002 |
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On September 27, the National Museum of Dentistry, affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute, presented an exhibit, "The Future Is Now," based on NDA II: The Story of America's Second National Dental Association.
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