Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)

"The idea of winning a doctor's degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle, and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me."

The first woman to earn an MD. She also:

• Graduated first in her class (1849)
• Opened, with her sister Dr. Emily Blackwell and Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, the NY Infirmary for Women and Children (1857)
• Trained nurses and helped standardize methods of hygiene for union hospitals during the civil war
• Promoted education for women in the medical profession
• Wrote Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women

Read more about Dr. Blackwell.