Alonzo Clifton McClennan Alonzo Clifton McClennan ( May 1 , 1855 - April 14 , 1912 ) was the co - founder of Charleston Hospital and Training School for Nurses , which opened in 1897 . He was also the second black man appointed to United States Naval Academy as a midshipman . Early life . McClennan was born in Columbia , South Carolina on 1 May 1855 and was raised by his uncle ( Edward B . Thompson , a free black barber ) after being orphaned . He began his education at the Benedict Institute in Columbia , and later became a legislative page in the South Carolina state legislature with the help of his uncle , Samuel B . Thompson , a representative . He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1873 , but resigned . In 1880 he graduated with honors from the Howard University College of Medicine with degrees in medicine and pharmacy , and established a practice in Augusta , Georgia . In 1884 he moved to Charleston , South Carolina . Naval Academy . McClennan met Richard H . Cain when Cain was a South Carolina State Senator and they became friends . After Cain was elected as United States Representative for South Carolina ' s at - large district he resolved to make appointments to the service academies and held a competitive examination in the summer of 1873 . While McClennan had long hoped to become a position , his family ' s inability to afford college made an appointment a promising stepping - stone . After intense preparation , McClennan placed second and accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy . McClennan was aware of the mistreatment experienced by the first black midshipman , John H . Conyers , but experienced no overt racism during the Academy entrance examination . McClennan ' s appearance — he had blond hair and blue eyes and " was to all appearances a white man " — meant his race was not immediately apparent . The year after McClennan ' s resignation , Henry E . Baker was appointed and also faced hazing . Baker was dismissed from the Academy in Fall 1875 for using " opprobrious language " during a mess hall fight ; the harassment continued after his reinstatement by Secretary of the Navy George M . Robeson , however , and Baker resigned permanently . No other blacks were appointed to the Naval Academy for the following six decades . Medical career . Upon his arrival in Charleston , McClennan established his practice and gained an " excellent reputation as a physician " . In 1892 he opened Charleston ' s first black drug store , the People ' s Pharmacy , which was a success . In 1896 McClennan and all but one of Charleston ' s black physicians lobbied for a hospital to serve Charleston ' s black population and provide them with otherwise unobtainable hospital privileges . The training of black nurses began that year with theoretical lectures held in the auditorium of Wallingford Academy ; attempts to hold practical training at the City Hospital and Old Folks Home were rebuffed . The Hospital and Training School for Nurses was chartered by South Carolina in July 1897 , and opened with 24 beds in a three - story building purchased for $ 4 , 500 ( equivalent to $ in present day terms ) . Funds for the purchase of the building and necessary equipment were secured almost entirely by local charity , including support from the Duke Endowment . A historical marker commemorating McClennan and the hospital was erected in 2010 near 135 Cannon Street in Charleston , South Carolina . Personal life . McClennan married Ida Veronica Ridley , a schoolteacher from a prominent African American family in Augusta , Georgia , and their home was a locus of social life for black elites in Charleston , frequently hosting recitals , literary gatherings , and other social functions . The couple had three children : Maude ( 1885 ‒ 1976 ) , Harriet ( b . 1890 ) , and Ridley Ulysses ( 1887 – 1921 ) . Dr . McClennan died in Charleston on 14 April 1912 and is buried in the Humane and Friendly Society Cemetery in Charleston .