James McCune Smith, the first African-American doctor, was rejected from all American colleges and had to attend the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he graduated at the top of his class

James McCune Smith

James McCune Smith (April 18, 1813 – November 17, 1865) was an African-American physician, apothecary, abolitionist, and author in New York City. He was the first African American to hold a medical degree and graduated at the top in his class at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. After his return to the United States, he became the first African American to run a pharmacy in that nation.

In addition to practicing as a doctor for nearly 20 years at the Colored Orphan Asylum in Manhattan, Smith was a public intellectual: he contributed articles to medical journals, participated in learned societies, and wrote numerous essays and articles drawing from his medical and statistical training. He used his training in medicine and statistics… Continue Reading

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McCune_Smith