Life Portraits
ELIZABETH BLACKWELL
America’s First Female Doctor
By Barbara A. Somervill
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Somervill, Barbara A.
Elizabeth Blackwell: America’s first female doctor / by Barbara A. Somervill.
p. cm. — (Life portraits)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-10: 1-4339-0055-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-4339-0055-6 (lib. bdg.)
1. Blackwell, Elizabeth, 1821-1910. 2. Women physicians—United States—
Biography. 3. Physicians—United States—Biography. I. Title.
R154.B623S66 2009
610.82092—dc22
[B]
2008036607
This edition first published in 2009 by
Gareth Stevens Publishing
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Pleasantville, NY 10570-7000 USA
Copyright © 2009 by Gareth Stevens, Inc.
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Printed in the United States of America
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ta b l e o f c o n t e n t s
Chapter One
A Woman Doctor! What Next? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter Two
Family Ties, Family Struggles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter Three
Life Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter Four
The First Woman in Medical School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter Five
Studies Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter Six
Dr. Blackwell, Open for Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter Seven
The Civil War Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter Eight
Pioneer Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter nine
A Life Well Spent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Time Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
A Conversation With Julie Gerberding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Select Bibliography and Source Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
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Elizabeth Blackwell challenged the medical world—and
society’s ideas about women—to become America’s first
female physician.
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Chapter one
A Woman
Doctor!
What Next?
F
rost hung in the air on a bright, sunny
winter day in Geneva, New York. It was January 23,
1849—graduation day for the Geneva Medical College.
At 10 a.m., a group of male students gathered together on the
college grounds. Together they paraded to Presbyterian House,
the church where the graduation ceremony would take place.
There was music and joking, and the men were full of high spirits. They had worked hard to earn their degrees, and the budding
young physicians were ready to celebrate. The Bishop of New
York, Dr. Hale (the president of the school), and faculty members led the enthusiastic students toward the hall. Interestingly,
the only person missing from the group was the one everyone
wanted to see—Elizabeth Blackwell.
Dr. James Webster, Elizabeth’s favorite professor, had asked
more than once if Elizabeth would join in the parade. She refused.
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Elizabeth Blackwell
According to Elizabeth, “It wouldn’t be ladylike.” She wanted to
make a good impression on the people attending the graduation.
She had come far in life, but Elizabeth still had plenty to prove
to the people of Geneva and the medical community at large. She
worried that some people might think she was silly or irresponsible if she joked along with the lighthearted men.
Instead, Elizabeth and her brother Henry made their way quietly to the Presbyterian House for the ceremony. They sat in the
back of the church, waiting for Elizabeth’s fellow graduates to
arrive. When the other students entered the building, Elizabeth
would join them. She seemed calm and in control as she sat next
to her brother. If she really was calm, Elizabeth may have been
the only person in the church who was. Excitement practically
buzzed in the air.
Women from Geneva packed the church. When Elizabeth first
arrived in town, she met with a lot of disapproval. People didn’t
like the idea of allowing a woman to attend medical school. Now
they turned out in large numbers to see the graduation of “the
female student.” Margaret Munro DeLancey, a young woman
who attended the ceremony, recalled:
Annie and I went down early to the ‘Presbyterian
House’ but though there a full hour before the exercises
commenced yet we were unable to get a front seat in the
gallery … About half past ten … the procession entered
the building. The Lioness of the day, Miss Blackwell met
them at the door and entered with the Medical Students,
without hat or shawl.
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A Woman Doctor! What Next?
A Historic Moment
There were 17 students in
Elizabeth’s class. The male
students went up in groups
of four to receive their diplomas. Finally, after the last
man received his certificate,
Elizabeth was called to the
stage. She went up alone. As
Elizabeth approached Dr.
Elizabeth was very proud to receive
Hale, he rose, took off his her diploma from Geneva Medical College
hat, and bowed. Accepting in 1849.
the diploma, Elizabeth said,
“Sir, I thank you; by the help of the Most High, it shall be the
effort of my life to shed honor upon your diploma.” The two
bowed to each other, and then Elizabeth rejoined her fellow
graduating doctors.
Dr. Charles Lee, dean of Geneva Medical College, then delivered the valedictory address to the crowd. In his speech, he
praised Elizabeth for her devotion and hard work in studying
medicine. He said that she “was fully qualified to practice as
a Physician, and that the degree was fully merited.” It was the
answer to the question that was on the minds of many. Dr. Lee
ended his speech saying, “God speed her … in her errand of
mercy, and crown her efforts with … success!” At that, loud
applause filled the church. The first woman medical doctor in
the United States had received her diploma. Not only that—she
had finished first in her class!
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