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Woman Physician Essay

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First United States Woman Physician

Born on February 3, 1821 in Bristol, England. Elizabeth Blackwell came from a wealthy and religious family. Her father Samuel Blackwell was a sugar refiner and her Mother Hannah Blackwell came from a prosperous family. She was the third of nine children. Elizabeth and her siblings were educated at home by private tutors and a governess. The Blackwell family stood firmly against slavery. They attended anti-slavery fairs and meetings. The children refused to eat sugar because the sugarcane industry used slaves for labor. In 1832, due to financial problems the Blackwell family moved to New York City, where the father Samuel Blackwell resumed both his sugar refining and anti-slavery protests. After a fire …show more content…

While in the process of looking for a school, Elizabeth received an acceptance letter from Geneva College, a small medical school in New York. When Elizabeth showed up to class everyone was surprised. The acceptance letter was intended to be a joke. While in college Elizabeth faced discrimination. The professors forced her to sit separately or was often taken out of class when the professor would teach certain subjects. However, she did not give up and over time earned the respect of the students and professors. In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated at the top of her class and became the first woman physician to receive a degree. Even after graduating she continued training at several hospitals in London and Paris. However, during her training in Paris she contracted an eye disease called purulent ophthalmia, which resulted in having her left eye removed and replaced with a glass eye. This incident rendered her incapable of becoming a surgeon. In 1851, she returned to New York City where with the help of friends, Elizabeth opened a small clinic to treat poor women. A few years later with the help of her sister, Elizabeth opened a hospital called New York Infirmary for Women and Children. In 1874, she also opened a school of medicine for women in London. Elizabeth was a professor of gynecology there until 1907. That same year, at the age of 86 she fell headfirst down a flight of

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