medical doctor, hospital administrator, federal official
Known for
1963 Federal Woman's Award recipient
Eleanor L. Makel (March 7, 1914 – March 1, 1992) was a medical doctor, a hospital administrator, and a government official. During the administration of John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Makel was one of the highest ranking black women in the federal government.
Makel was the first woman doctor admitted to a residency in internal medicine at the Freedman's Hospital in Washington.[7] She also worked at the District of Columbia Health Department, and in the student health program at Howard University, early in her career.[5] She was a medical officer in the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, based at St. Elizabeths Hospital from 1953.[8] She was the first black person to hold a professional staff position at the hospital.[9]
In 1963 Makel was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award,[7] presented to career federal employees who made significant contributions to their programs.[10] Makel was one of the highest ranking African-American women in the federal government during the Kennedy administration.[11] By 1971[12] she was Director of the Medical and Surgical Branch at St. Elizabeths.[13] In 1980, she was among the hospital administrators accused of discriminatory promotion in the lawsuit Daye v. Harris.[14] She gave an oral history interview about her career in medicine and government in 1983, for the Women in the Federal Government Oral History Project at Harvard University.[11][15]