John Patrick Turner (November 1, 1895 – September 14, 1958) was an African American physician, surgeon, hospital administrator, and educator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Turner was the first Black member of the Philadelphia Board of Education, serving in that capacity for 35 years.
[2] When he was seventeen years old, Turner enrolled in the Leonard Medical School at Shaw University, graduating in 1906.
[2][1] Later in the 1920s, Turner attended Jefferson Medical College and Philadelphia General Hospital for a postgraduate study of internal medicine.
[2] Turner's entire medical career was spent in Philadelphia where he continued his affiliation with the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital.
[2] He became the medical inspector of Philadelphia's public schools in 1912, continuing in that position for nineteen years and examining some 75,000 children.
[2] In 1935, Turner was the first Black to be appointed to the Philadelphia Board of Education and served in this position for 23 years.
[1][3][6] In this capacity, he advocated for smaller class sizes, modern equipment, more adequate classroom supplies, and for public education to start with kindergarten.
[2] During World War II, he volunteered for the United States Army Medical Service Corps, served on the Philadelphia Public Defense Committee, and was chairman of Local Draft Board No.
[3][1] The family was part of the Black upper class, allowing Marion to became a concert pianist, socialite, and club woman.