The Blackwell sisters, Elizabeth and Emily, forced open the doors of American medicine for women in the 1800s, transforming the profession despite facing systematic rejection from medical establishments.
• Elizabeth Blackwell, born 1821 to abolitionist parents, became the first female doctor in America despite initially finding medicine "disgusting"
• Rejected by 29 medical schools before Geneva Medical College accepted her—only because male students thought it was a joke
• Graduated top of her class in 1849, later losing an eye to infection while training in Paris
• Emily Blackwell followed her sister into medicine, becoming the third female physician in America despite facing even greater resistance
• Together they founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children in 1857 and later a women's medical college
• Elizabeth held surprisingly conservative views—opposing women's voting rights and contraception
• Neither sister married, but both adopted daughters
• By their deaths in 1910, women made up 6% of physicians; today they represent over half of medical students
Sources:
https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/review-doctors-blackwell
http://bedside-rounds.org/episode-62-the-sisters-blackwell/
https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_36.html
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/elizabeth-blackwell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LbBGRCMXGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7MRGYRx3DQ
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