Patricia Bath was an American ophthalmologist, inventor, humanitarian, and academic.

Bath was an early pioneer of laser cataract surgery, and became the first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose for her invention of the Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment in 1986. Bath was able to help restore the sight of individuals who had been blind for more than 30 years using her Laserphaco Probe.

Bath founded the non-profit American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Washington, D.C. based on the principle that “eyesight is a basic human right.”