Nathan Francis Mossell was an African American doctor who helped establish the first black hospital in Philadelphia.
At the age of fifteen, however, the family could now afford to provide for Mossell’s education. In 1871 he enrolled in nearby Lincoln University’s high school preparatory program, completing the four-year curriculum in three years. Four years later, in 1879, he graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, taking second honours in his class and winning the Bradley Medal in natural science. While at Lincoln, Mossell met his future wife, Gertrude Bustill, with whom he would eventually have four children. Mossell credited his wife with his decision to attend medical school and to settle in Philadelphia, her home town.