Originally from England, Elizabeth Blackwell and her family moved to the United States when she was still a young girl. After a dying friend told her that she would have rather had a lady doctor, Elizabeth then considered the possiblity of studying to be a physician. Later, she found the path to pursue that goal.
When she graduated from New York's Geneva Medical College, in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to earn the M.D. degree. She supported medical education for women and helped many other women's careers. By establishing the New York Infirmary in 1857, she offered a solution to one of the problems facing women who were turned away from internships elsewhere but determined to expand their skills as doctors. She also published several important books on the issue of women in medicine, including Medicine as a Profession For Women in 1860 and Address on the Medical Education of Women in 1864.
In honor of her accomplishments, I created this wooden miniature inspired by one of her portraits.
Thank goodness for lady doctors!
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