Elizabeth Blackwell family papers

Elizabeth Blackwell was born on February 3, 1821, near Bristol, England, to Hannah Lane and Samuel Blackwell, a sugar-refiner, Quaker, and anti-slavery activist. Elizabeth was the third of nine children. In 1832, at age 11, Elizabeth moved with her family to America, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio.

After working for a time as a teacher, Elizabeth Blackwell set her sights on a career in medicine. She applied to 29 medical schools before she was accepted to Geneva Medical College in 1847. Upon receiving an application for admittance from a woman, the faculty of Geneva Medical College requested a vote from the student body on whether or not to admit her, which they felt confident would never vote to admit a female student. Whether they voted “yes” thinking the whole situation was a practical joke or as a joke on the faculty who they could see were troubled over the possibility of admitting a woman to the college is unclear; however, it was from this vote that Elizabeth was granted admittance to the school. Over the next two years of her studies, Elizabeth worked her way to the top of the class and graduated on January 23, 1849. In doing so, she became the first woman in America to graduate with a medical degree.

Elizabeth spent much of her life working in medicine and promoting the inclusion of women in that field though it was not always an easy path. Because she was a woman, she had a difficult time finding employment or establishing patients in hospitals or clinics. In 1851, she opened a small clinic in New York City to treat poor women; several years later, in 1857, Elizabeth and her sister Emily Blackwell (who had also pursued and earned a medical degree) together with Dr. Marie Zakrzewska opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.

As her health declined in the 1870s, Elizabeth gave up the practice of medicine, though she remained an advocate for reform and active in medical education. Having returned to England in the late 1860s, Elizabeth became a professor of gynecology at the London School of Medicine for Women. She also authored several books and other publications throughout her life on various topics in the field of medicine. Her autobiography, Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women, was published in 1895.