Pioneering Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath, MD, Dies at 76

Patricia E. Bath, MD, an ophthalmologist who took a special interest in combating preventable blindness in underserved populations and became the first black female doctor to patent a medical invention, a laser device for treating cataracts, died at the age of 76, according to a New York Times report.

Her daughter, Eraka Bath, said Dr. Bath had died after a brief illness.

Dr. Bath was an educator and researcher as well as a physician. She began her medical career in New York and in 1974 joined the faculties of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in that city.

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