Dr. William Finlayson, a prominent Milwaukee doctor and civil rights activist, died Monday, May 11 at age 101.
“Today we mourn the passing of Dr. William Finlayson, a pioneering figure in medicine and an iconic community leader and activist in the City of Milwaukee,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a Tuesday, May 12 news release and social media post.
“Dr. Finlayson created true impact on generations [of] Milwaukeeans, and will be remembered for generations to come.”
Finlayson was the first Black obstetrician and gynecologist at the former St. Joseph’s Hospital, now known as Ascension Southeast Wisconsin Hospital – St. Joseph, and Mount Sinai Hospital. He practiced for nearly four decades, and welcomed close to 10,000 babies into the world.
Finlayson also was a civil rights leader in Milwaukee and, in particular, the city’s open housing marches in 1967 and 1968.
He founded the city’s first Black-owned bank, North Milwaukee State Bank, in 1971. He and his wife, Edith, fought against lending discrimination.
Clayborn Benson, founder of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society and Museum, said everyone knew Finlayson, because “he birthed everyone’s daughters and he birthed everyone’s sons” – including Benson’s own daughter, Jamila.
But Benson said Finlayson’s impact on Milwaukee stretched far beyond the birthing room.
“If you weren’t talking about babies, you are talking about banking,” Benson said. “He made sure it (North Milwaukee State Bank) stayed open, even when it was losing money, because he understood how important it was.”
Finlayson was also a supporter of Benson’s ambition to open the Black Historical Society, and offered his home in River Hills to host a launch party in 1987, Benson said.
In 2022, the city of Milwaukee renamed a portion of North 5th Street, between West Capitol Drive and West Walnut Street, Dr. William Finlayson Street, in honor of the pioneering doctor.
At the time, Milwaukee Common Council member Milele Coggs described the significance of Finalyson’s work in Milwaukee.
“The impact and influence of Dr. Finlayson is felt through the life and works of so many people in the city of Milwaukee, and I am honored to have a street in Bronzeville named after him,” she said.
Johnson said in his statement that the street ensures Finlayson’s memory is “forever part of our city.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley also expressed his gratitude for Finlayson, stating that the doctor “dedicated his life to the women of this community” in his work as an OB-GYN – and also helped the community “far beyond the hospital walls.”
“Dr. Finlayson’s legacy is a powerful reminder that diverse voices in medicine and in leadership are essential to the overall health of our community,” Crowley said in a statement. “On behalf of Milwaukee County, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, his colleagues and the thousands of lives he touched.”
Finlayson attended Florida A&M University for two years before serving in the U.S. Army. He then attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1946 to 1953, while in the Army Reserves. There, he was classmates with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Finlayson helped bring King to Milwaukee to speak.
After Morehouse College, Finlayson attended Meharry Medical College, in Nashville, Tennessee, then began his residency at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1957.
After residency, he settled in Milwaukee – where he went on to build much of his long-lasting legacy.
“Milwaukee is healthier and stronger because of Dr. Finlayson’s work,” Johnson said in his statement.
This story was updated with new information.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dr. William Finlayson, prominent Milwaukee figure, dies at 101
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau and Everett Eaton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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