Patricia Bath was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in 1942. Her father was a subway train operator and her mother worked as a housekeeper when she wasn’t taking care of Patricia and her brother, so she could save money for her children’s education. Patricia’s parents always encouraged her to work hard in school, and her mother sparked her interest in science when she bought Patricia her first chemistry set.

Patricia was an outstanding math and science student in high school, and she discovered that she loved biology. When she was sixteen, cancer cell research she did at a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation was so impressive that it was included in an academic paper. After earning a B.A. in chemistry, she attended Howard University’s College of Medicine, where she received her medical degree in 1967. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. that same year, she organized her fellow medical students to volunteer their time and talents to help people in their community who could not afford health care.

When Patricia Bath, now Dr. Bath, returned home to work at Harlem Hospital, she noticed there were more blind patients there than at a neighboring hospital where she also worked. She continued her education, doing a residency to become an ophthalmologist, which is an expert in eyes and vision. When Dr. Bath’s research demonstrated that certain groups of people suffered from more eye problems than others, she wanted to understand why and help address the problem. She set up an eye clinic at Harlem Hospital Center, where they started doing eye surgeries. In 1972, Patricia got married and had a daughter named Eraka.

After moving to Los Angeles, Dr. Bath continued working to improve surgical treatment for blind patients. She invented a medical device that dissolves cloudy lenses called cataracts, which can form on the eyes of older people. Once the cataracts are gone, new lenses can be put in. She patented four more devices for eye surgeries, and thanks to her inventions, people who were blind for decades were able to regain their eyesight. Throughout her career, Dr. Bath addressed issues in society that contributed to vision problems, such as poverty and inadequate access to health care. Dr. Patricia Bath was a partner of the American Institute of Blindness, whose motto is “Eyesight is a basic human right.” She died in 2019.

Dr. Bath’s contributions to surgical equipment and eye care are still used in eye clinics around the world every day.