Gwendolyn Grant Mellon

An article in Time Magazine changed Gwendolyn Grant Mellon’s life. The story was about Dr. Albert Schweitzer, a man who’d given up everything to treat thousands of Africans in dire need of health care. Inspired by his sacrifice, she and her husband quickly gave up their life in Arizona, committing themselves to what Schweitzer called a “reverence for life” and setting out to heal the sick.
While her husband earned a medical degree, Mellon prepared herself to become a hospital administrator and eventually oversaw construction of a hospital in Haiti. In 1956, the two opened the doors of a 75-bed hospital, serving thousands of people who previously had been without any medical care in the Artibonite River Valley. The couple named their hospital, the Hopital Albert Schweitzer, in honor of the man who was their inspiration.
A Geneva, N.Y. native and graduate of Smith College, Gwendolyn Grant Mellon was the heart of the enterprise, acting as engineer, translator and director of personnel among other duties. Over time, the hospital grew into a modern medical center and made an unmistakable impact on Haitians, immunizing 95 percent of children, eliminating tetanus and measles, and drilling more than 100 fresh water wells.
Mellon continued to serve the people of the Artibonite River Valley even after her husband’s death in 1989. After receiving the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 2000, Mellon died.
BLACKWELL RECIPIENTS
May 16, 2021
Librarian of Congress Carla HaydenFebruary 3, 2021
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgJanuary 22, 2015
Dr. Janet L. YellenNovember 10, 2013
The Most Reverend Doctor Katharine Jefferts SchoriOctober 27, 2011
Eunice Kennedy Shriver-
April 23, 2009
Rabbi Sally J. Priesand -
April 24, 2008
Dr. Wangari Maathai Sc.D.'94, P '94, P '96 -
April 27, 2007
Dr. Priscilla A. Schaffer '64, Sc.D. '94 -
September 7, 2004
Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris September 9, 2003
Loretta C. FordSeptember 4, 2001
Madeleine K. AlbrightMay 15, 1998
Billie Jean KingFebruary 10, 1996
Wilma MankillerSeptember 23, 1993
Barbara JordanSeptember 27, 1991
Margaret Chase SmithFebruary 22, 1991
Dr. Antonia C. NovelloFebruary 19, 1988
Barbara Aronstein BlackOctober 9, 1985
Cicely SaundersMarch 8, 1985
Sandra Day O’ConnorFebruary 11, 1984
Hannah Holborn GrayFebruary 26, 1982
Agnes George de MilleFebruary 15, 1980
Mary Douglas LeakeySeptember 30, 1977
Mary S. CalderoneOctober 3, 1975
Antonia BricoJanurary 23, 1974
Frances Keller HardingMay 28, 1973
Judith Graham PoolJune 8, 1972
Marian AndersonApril 10, 1972
Mary LaskerJune 13, 1971
Mina ReesJune 14, 1970
Helen Brooke TaussigJune 15, 1969
Georgiana SibleyJune 16, 1968
Constance Baker MotleySeptember 8, 1967
Catharine MacfarlaneJuly 10, 1966
Fe del MundoJune 13, 1965
Annette LeMeitour-KaplunJune 14, 1964
Margaret MeadJune 9, 1963
Marty MannJune 10, 1962
Frances PerkinsJune 18,1961
Leona BaumgartnerJune 12, 1960
Miki SawadaJune 14, 1959
Elisabeth Luce MooreSeptember 27, 1958
Gwendolyn Grant Mellon