Lena Frances Edwards

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Lena Frances Edwards Madison
Edwards in 1980
Born	September 17, 1900 Washington, DC
Died	December 3, 1986 Lakewood, New Jersey
Occupation	Physician
Spouse	Kieth Madison
Parents	Thomas Edwards Marie Coakley

Lena Frances Edwards (September 17, 1900 – December 3, 1986) was a New Jersey physician who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

She was the daughter of Thomas Edwards and Marie Coakley. She graduated Howard University Medical School in 1924, and started her medical practice in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1925 within the immigrant community of Hudson County, New Jersey. She married a classmate, Kieth Madison, a physician, and they had six children.

She advocated natural childbirth, and it took years before she was admitted to the residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City. She taught obstetrics at Howard University Medical School, and she was the medical adviser to the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, and volunteered at a mission for Mexican migrant workers in Texas. Her service was recognized by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 1966 she was awarded an honorary degree from Saint Peter's College, New Jersey. She was awarded the Poverello Medal in 1967. She died in 1986 in Lakewood, New Jersey.