The Blackwell Sisters and Mary Putnam Jacobi

The Blackwell sisters and Mary Putnam Jacobi are just three of the early American women who bravely ventured into field of medicine in the 19th century. The information presented below just scratches the surface of their achievements. More information on these and other women may be found at the National Library of Medicine's online exhibit Changing the Face of Medicine.

Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell (Sisters): A Timeline

1849	Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman graduate of medical school, graduated from the Geneva Medical College, NY.
1854	Emily Blackwell graduated from Western Reserve Medical College in Cleveland and spent the next two years in Europe for advanced training.
1865	The Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary was established.
1899	The trustees of the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary decided to close the college.

Elizabeth Blackwell in Punch, 1849

On the occasion of Elizabeth Blackwell's graduation from Geneva Medical College, Punch published the following poem:

Young ladies all, of every clime,
Especially of Britain,
Who wholly occupy your time
In novels or in knitting,
Whose highest skill is but to play,
Sing, dance, or French to clack well,
Reflect on the example, pray,
Of excellent Miss Blackwell!

How much more blest were married life
To men of small condition,
If every one could have his wife
For family physician;
His nursery kept from ailments free,
By proper regulation,
And for advice his only fee
A thankful salutation.

Mary Putnam Jacobi: A Brief Chronology

"She was not only a woman eminent among women, but she was a physician eminent among physicians." - Dr. Lilian Welsh, 1907

1871	Graduated from the Ecole de Medecine in Paris, the second woman to receive a degree. She graduated with high honors and won a bronze medal for her thesis.
1882	Started a job as faculty of the New York Post-Graduate Medical School.
1876	Wrote an essay refuting the premise of Sex Education: A Fair Chance for Girls by E.H. Clarke, which stated that monthly menstruation would prevent women from becoming doctors. Jacobi used statistical analyses and case studies, and because the essays were submitted anonymously and the judges did not know she was a female, won the Harvard Medical School's Boylston Prize.

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