On This Day: First Woman M.D.

Elizabeth Blackwell was born on February 3, 1821 in Bristol, England. Her family immigrated to the U.S., and shortly after moving to Ohio, her father died. The work ethic she developed during this time would serve her well in her years ahead.

Blackwell became a teacher and took positions all over the east. At first, she had no desire to become a doctor. In her book, Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women , she said, "...the very thought of dwelling on the physical structure of the body and its various ailments filled me with disgust." But after a dying friend said that her worst suffering could have been avoided if her physician had been a woman, Elizabeth grew passionate about the field.

She applied to all the schools of medicine in New York and Pennsylvania, but was rejected by all but the Geneva College in New York. They agreed to admit her as a joke, for surely no woman could be serious about going to medical school. When she attended she faced opposition, but eventually won the admiration of students and faculty alike.

Elizabeth became a doctor on this day, January 23, 1849.

She went on to have a private practice, and then to open the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with her sister, who was also a doctor. She continued to fight for the admittance of women into medical school. She organized a unit of female field doctors to aid the Civil War wounded. And in 1869, the Infirmary added a college to train women doctors and nurses. Her last job was a teaching position at the London School of Medicine for Women as a professor of gynecology.

She died in 1910 after a lifetime of tireless work in advancing women's acceptance into the medical profession.