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Elizabeth Blackwell, Physician

Elizabeth Blackwell was an Anglo-American physician and the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States. She was born in 1823 in Counterslip, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, in a wealthy family that prioritized education.

Her entire childhood, she was educated by private tutors as her parents wanted to offer her the best education. in 1832, Blackwell immigrated to the United States with her family, where they were forced to move a lot due to their father’s job. After his death, her family was left in poverty.

Elizabeth and her two sisters opened a private school. Since she had to support her family, Blackwell became a school teacher. Firstly, she moved to Henderson, Kentucky, and a few years later moved again to North and South Carolina.

At first, she wasn’t interested in medicine, but then she started learning medicine privately. In 1847, Blackwell decided to apply to a medical school, even though most of them did not accept her. However, she managed to get accepted at the Geneva Medical College (a forerunner of Hobart College) in Geneva, New York, becoming the first woman in the United States to study medicine and graduate medical school.

However, her years as a student were not easy at all, since she was the only woman in a class of men, and they used to harass and make fun of her. But she never gave up, in fact, she became even more ambitious and was ranked first in her class in 1849.

In the same exact year, Blackwell officially became a U.S. citizen. However, she wanted to learn even more about medicine, so she traveled to Paris, where she attended a midwives course. Unfortunately, she contracted an infection that left her blind in her left eye.

Therefore, she wasn’t able to become a surgeon anymore. That’s how she decided to open a small dispensary, even though it wasn’t a very great period for her. A few years later, her two sisters, doctors as well, joined her dispensary who was incorporated as the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.

She also became the first woman in England to have her name placed on the British medical register in 1859. Blackwell also organized the Woman’s Central Association of Relief and the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War.

She continued to travel between the United States and England for a few years until she permanently decided to move to England in 1869. She opened her private practice there, created the National Health Society in 1871, and also became a teacher at the London School of Medicine for Women, specialized in gynecology.

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