MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Dr. William Finlayson, who broke barriers as one of the first Black physicians to practice in Milwaukee hospitals and spent four decades delivering babies across the city, died Monday, May 11, according to a press release issued by his family.

Finlayson is said to have delivered more than 10,000 babies over his career as an obstetrician and gynecologist. In 2023, the city of Milwaukee honored him with a street renaming near 5th and North Ave., where some of the patients he delivered attended the ceremony.

At the time of the street name ceremony, Milwaukee Alderwoman Milele Coggs of District 6 spoke about the importance of the name change in the city:

"Hopefully they'll look up Dr. Finlayson and see some of the great works and great service that he's done for the city of Milwaukee and be inspired in their own way to be of service to the city as well."

He was also a figure in Milwaukee's civil rights movement and helped establish the city's first Black bank. A Morehouse College graduate, Finlayson studied medicine at Meharry Medical College and formed a lasting friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during their time together at Morehouse.

Finlayson was 101. A memorial service date has not been announced.