1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Wilson and I'm Holly pro. Holly, did you 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: know that, according to the American Medical Association, of positions 5 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: in America today are women. I did not know that. 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: That seems like a smaller number than I thought. Yeah, Like, 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: I was surprised by the smallness of that number. I 8 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: am too. I mean, when I think about most of 9 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: the gps that, like I've seen in the last I 10 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: don't know decade, even in the listings, I remember searching 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: for them at various points, it seemed like there was 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: either a more even or even tipped more towards women. 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: But maybe that's just been a coincidence of my providers. Yeah. Well, 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: and I remember earlier this year when my uh, when 15 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: my general my GP was on maternity leave, the person 16 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: anser ring the phone at the practice said, well, our 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: other female doctor is And I was like, what do 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: you mean our other female doctor? There were like nine 19 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: doctors in this practice. I've always been fortunate enough that 20 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: if I want a woman doctor, I can find one. Yeah, Like, 21 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: there are definitely places where people who want to see 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: a woman doctor can only find male doctors. Uh. But 23 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: before the eighteen fifties, there were basically zero women doctors 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: in the United States, and Dr Elizabeth Blackwell was the 25 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: first woman to graduate from an American medical school and 26 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: also the first woman listed in Great Britain's medical register. 27 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: She really paved the way for the women who came 28 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: after her. So she didn't just become a doctor herself. 29 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: She tirelessly worked towards greater access for medical education and 30 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: work in medicine for women. And she was also a 31 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: social reformer. And she's we're going to talk about today, 32 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: And this is not one of those stories where someone 33 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: had a childhood dream of pursuing a career that was 34 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: for some reason closed to them. She had no interest 35 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: in medicine whatsoever as a child, and this was a 36 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: career that, you know, came to her later in her 37 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: life when she was a young adult. She actually started 38 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: out in a career path that was much more available 39 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: to women at the time, which was that she was 40 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,800 Speaker 1: a teacher, and she used her work as a teacher 41 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: to kind of get her foot in the door for 42 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: being a doctor. It is funny to think about because 43 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: even today most people that want to be doctors know 44 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: it at a really early age, and their kind of 45 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: education is focused from a very young age. Often, not always, 46 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: but most of the time frequently. Yeah, so it's kind 47 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: of interesting to think, like, at some point in her 48 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: teaching career ship doctor. Yeah, we will get to that, 49 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: but first we'll do the basics on her beginnings. So 50 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: she was born in Bristol, England, and her parents were 51 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: Hannah Lane and Samuel Blackwell, and they had met when 52 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: they were Sunday school teachers together. Her family was a 53 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: rather a large one. She grew up with four sisters 54 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: and four brothers, and she also had two other brothers 55 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: who died when they were babies. Uh. This was a 56 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: deeply religious Congregationalist family as well as being socially very liberal, 57 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: and they were also abolitionist, which was a problematic sentiment 58 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: for the family. Elizabeth's father was a prosperous sugar refiner 59 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: and the sugar he refined had been farmed, of course, 60 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: using slave labor. Yeah, they were in a very that's 61 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: a conflicted party situation. They were in a knowingly yucky 62 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: situation where they were they were vehemently against this practice 63 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: and yet that practice is what was supporting their families, 64 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: so they did actually a lot of work with Quakers 65 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: trying to find alternate UH sources of sugar to refine 66 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: that was not farmed with slave labor. UH they moved 67 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: away from working in that industry. Also, UM their religion, 68 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: though meant that the children couldn't attend Church of England schools, 69 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: so they mostly learned at home under the care of 70 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: governesses and tutors, and all of the children were really 71 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: eager students. They spent most of their pocket money buying books. Um. 72 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: They were also they weren't just stay indoors bookish people, 73 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: although they were that. They were also very fond of 74 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,920 Speaker 1: walking and playing outdoors. And the family moved to the 75 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: United States in eighteen thirty two when Elizabeth was eleven. 76 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:23,840 Speaker 1: Her father's sugar refinery had burned down and he had 77 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: wanted to take a more active part in the fight 78 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: against slavery, and the children had all given up sugar 79 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: because of the use of slavery and its farming and production. 80 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: So yes, ultimately they stopped playing a part in the 81 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: practice that they all abhorred. So once they arrived in 82 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: the United States, the family started out in New York 83 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: and Jersey City, and this is when Elizabeth and her 84 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: school aged siblings started going to regular schools for the 85 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,040 Speaker 1: first time. The whole family became really involved in the 86 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: fight for abolition also, and William Lloyd Garrison, who was 87 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: the man behind the anti slavery new paper The Liberator, 88 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: became a family friend and a frequent guest in their home, 89 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: and when Elizabeth was seventeen, the family moved to Ohio. 90 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: A few months after they arrived in Cincinnati, though her 91 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: father died, they had already become far less affluent than 92 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: they had been in England, and of course before their 93 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: refinery burned down, but this left the family without any 94 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 1: kind of financial support. Elizabeth and her two older sisters 95 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: started a school for girls, and their oldest brother got 96 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: a job in the mayor's office. Together, the four of 97 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,479 Speaker 1: them supported the family until the youngest children were also 98 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: old enough to work, and the sisters also became politically 99 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: active in causes other than abolition, campaigning for greater access 100 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: to education for women and girls, UH primarily, and they 101 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: also joined the Episcopal Church, and they developed relationships with 102 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: Transcendentalists who had moved to Cincinnati from New England. They 103 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: kept their school running until eighteen forty two, when enough 104 00:05:57,279 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: of the younger brothers had gone into business that they 105 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: didn't need quite so much money, and Elizabeth continued to 106 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: teach privately. That year, she was invited to run a 107 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,039 Speaker 1: school for girls that was being started in Kentucky, and 108 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: she accepted the position and she moved, and that was 109 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: a very difficult time for her. She had been kind 110 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: of sheltered in her life up to this point, and 111 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,679 Speaker 1: Kentucky was a slave state, and living there was really 112 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: her first exposure to real world slavery, this thing that 113 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: they had in their family been talking about being against 114 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: for years and years. And the town that she lived 115 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: in was also much poorer and less developed than anywhere 116 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: else she had lived, and Elizabeth was expected to begin 117 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: teaching pretty much the moment she arrived, so a very 118 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: stressful transition. Yeah. She wound up teaching there for three 119 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: years before going back to Ohio, joining her family in 120 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: a town called Walnut Hills, which was at that point 121 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,839 Speaker 1: outside of Cincinnati. It became part of Cincinnati itself a 122 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: few years later, in eighteen sixty nine, and when she 123 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:02,119 Speaker 1: returned to Cincinnati, Elizabeth about twenty four and the idea 124 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: of being a doctor had still not even entered her 125 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: mind at this point. And while she really liked to study, 126 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: she was primarily focused on history, metaphysics, German, and music. 127 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: But she wanted to do something more and something difficult, 128 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: though she was not sure what that thing was. This 129 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: is a trade. I kind of love about her. I 130 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: think she's kind of like me, and that she always 131 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: wanted to tilt at the windmill. She was looking for 132 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: another windmill. And the idea to study medicine actually came 133 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: from a friend of hers who was dying, and in 134 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 1: her writing, Elizabeth doesn't specifically say what her friend was 135 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: dying of. We can kind of into it that it 136 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: had something to do with her reproductive system, but in 137 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: Elizabeth's words, it's quote delicate nature made the methods of 138 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: treatment a constant suffering to her. So Elizabeth's friend thought 139 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: that if she had been able to have a woman 140 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: doctor instead of a man doctor, that she would have 141 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: been spared the most uncomfortable and upsetting part of her treatment. 142 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: So Elizabeth's friend thought that a great next thing for 143 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: Elizabeth to do to do would be to become a 144 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: doctor herself. And Elizabeth's response to her friend's suggestion was 145 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: along the lines of what, No, I hate bodies and 146 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: everything about them, and I also hate medical textbooks. Uh. 147 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:19,679 Speaker 1: And in her own life, she also hated being sick, 148 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: and she found any kind of illness to be sort 149 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:26,720 Speaker 1: of shameful. I identify with all of these things. I 150 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: could never do anything medical and illness angers and frustrates me, 151 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 1: and I feel weird shame over it. I don't understand this, 152 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 1: but I acknowledge and recognize it. Yeah. Well, And at 153 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: the same time, Elizabeth could not get this thought of 154 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,559 Speaker 1: being a doctor out of her mind. She she had 155 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: been so much like, Nope, that not for me, but 156 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 1: the idea just kept kind of picking at her. Finally, 157 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: a couple of things tipped the scale in favor of 158 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: actually going to medical school, and the first was that 159 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: she described herself as falling in love a little too easily, 160 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 1: but she didn't like the idea of what marriage would 161 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: mean to her life. She concluded that if she became 162 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,560 Speaker 1: a doctor, she would never have to get married because 163 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,679 Speaker 1: a doctor's life and a traditional wife's life were so 164 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: incompatible with each other. Yeah, that is sort of a 165 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: wonderful logic. She kind of softened on her view about marriage. 166 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: Although she never got married. She kind of kind of 167 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: ease back on this idea that like being a wife 168 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: was terrible later in her life, but at this point 169 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: she was like, you know what, if I were a 170 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 1: doctor too busy for that, I wouldn't have to get married. Uh. 171 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: It also became, in her words, a moral struggle. She 172 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 1: really thought the world would be a lot better if 173 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: women were allowed to play a more active part in 174 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,559 Speaker 1: all aspects of it, one of those things being practicing medicine. Um. 175 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: She also wanted to reclaim the word female physician, which 176 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,719 Speaker 1: was at this point in history really a euphemism for abortionist, 177 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: and Elissenath started asking doctors that her family knew about 178 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: how to become a doctor her self. Uh. The idea 179 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: of a woman doctor, though, was so unheard of that 180 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 1: she didn't really know where to start, and everyone she 181 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 1: spoke with seemed to think that it was both a 182 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: good idea and also basically impossible. Medical schools were for 183 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: men only and they were extremely expensive, So Elizabeth started 184 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,079 Speaker 1: trying to raise money to study medicine in Paris, which, Uh, 185 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: Paris comes up over and over again in this story 186 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: is sort of this place that was so off the 187 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: rails in terms of morality that maybe they would not 188 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: have a problem with a woman's studying medicine. Um, she 189 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: thought it might be more acceptable for her to pursue 190 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: an education there, but the cost was just enormous, so 191 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: she accepted a teaching job in North Carolina, hoping to 192 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: save money to pay her way into a school in 193 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: the United States. The school's principle had also been a doctor, 194 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: and he was going to tutor her in addition to 195 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,760 Speaker 1: her doing her teaching duties. All of this was going 196 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: to happen in Asheville, which is my favorite place. Yeah. Uh, 197 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 1: did you know that when you selected her? Was it 198 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: one of those magical accidents? I did not. Yeah, And 199 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 1: it was one of those things where I was reading 200 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: her autobiography and I suddenly was like, I know where 201 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: she's talking about. I got very excited. Uh. And the 202 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: school that she went to in Aasheville actually disbanded in 203 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,000 Speaker 1: eighteen forty six, and at that point she moved to Charleston, 204 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: South Carolina, and there she studied with another doctor named 205 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: Samuel H. Dickinson, and she also taught music at a 206 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: school that was run by someone that Dickinson knew. She 207 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: kind of had a lot of favory connections going on 208 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 1: and makings meet and study. Yeah, there was definitely a 209 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,320 Speaker 1: combination of her working as a teacher while someone nearby 210 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: helped her learn about medicine. Before we get into her 211 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,440 Speaker 1: official start of actual medical school, would you like to 212 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: take a moment away from our story of this woman 213 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,120 Speaker 1: who loved to learn to talk about our new sponsor, 214 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: and now let's get back to America's first female m D. 215 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: That sounds grand. So by eighteen, Elizabeth finally felt like 216 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: she had enough money for medical school, and so she 217 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,439 Speaker 1: went to Philadelphia, which was at this point pretty much 218 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: the capital of medical instruction in the United States. She 219 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: applied to four medical colleges in Philadelphia, and she kept 220 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: studying anatomy in a private school, and her journals from 221 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: this period described being laughed at, being dismissed, told to 222 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: try the New England medical schools, or maybe the ones 223 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: in Paris. There was even a Philadelphia medical professor who 224 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: told her that while personally he was completely in favor 225 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: of women's studying medicine, it was so impossible that the 226 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: only way it was ever going to happen was if 227 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 1: she disguised herself as a man. So he was like, no, 228 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: I'm cool, but you're going to have to wear a mustache, right, 229 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: just so weird in her words. But neither the advice 230 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 1: to go to Paris nor the suggestion of disguise tempted 231 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,440 Speaker 1: me for a moment. It was, to my mind a 232 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: moral crusade on which I had entered a course of 233 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: justice and common sense, and it must be pursued in 234 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: the light of day and with public sanction in order 235 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: to accomplish its end. That is a woman who has 236 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: found her windmill. Uh. And after she exhausted her options 237 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: for medical schools in both New York and Philadelphia, she 238 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: got a list of smaller medical colleges known as quote 239 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: country schools throughout the Northeast, and she chose the twelve 240 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 1: most promising, And she finally got a letter from Geneva University, 241 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: which is in western New York, and her application had 242 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: been presented to the faculty, which had not really been 243 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: in favor of admitting her, but had presented her application 244 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: to the students, And so she later received the following documents. 245 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: It said, at a meeting of the entire medical class 246 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 1: of Geneva Medical College held this day, October seven. The 247 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: following resolutions were unanimously adopted. One resolved that one of 248 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: the radical principles of a Republican government is the universal 249 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,440 Speaker 1: education of both sexes, That to every branch of scientific education, 250 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: the door should be open equally to all, that the 251 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,679 Speaker 1: application of Elizabeth Blackwell to become a member of our 252 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: class meets our entire approbation. And then, extending our unanimous invitation, 253 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: we pledge ourselves that no conduct of ours shall cause 254 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: her to regret her attendance at this institution. To resolved 255 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: that a copy of these proceedings be signed by the 256 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: Chairman and transmitted to Elizabeth Blackwell. Doesn't that sound great? 257 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: It really does. It was not actually, uh the there 258 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: there were some shenanigans. That was some really good writing. 259 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: It was some great writing. So, but the thing is, 260 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 1: the faculty was not super into this idea at all, 261 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: and a lot of the students who voted on it 262 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: thought that it was a prank being played on them 263 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: by a rival college. Oh dear, Yeah, we'll talk about 264 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: that more in a second. But you know, long story short, 265 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: she got in uh and on November four of eighty seven, 266 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: she left Philadelphia to go to Geneva and start medical school, 267 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: and overall the other medical students that Geneva welcomed her. 268 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 1: They were courteous and friendly. They would save her a 269 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: seat for lectures, and most of the time they treated 270 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: her as a friend and a colleague, and she described 271 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: the behavior of her male classmates during the two years 272 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: that she studied as that of quote true Christian gentleman. 273 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: Later on, Elizabeth learned that some of the students had 274 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 1: thought her application was a hoax or a prank being 275 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: played on them by rival college as Tracy Sin, But 276 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: once they found themselves with an actual female student, they did, 277 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: for the most part, live up to what they had 278 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: resolved in that letter. Yeah. I think that's where they 279 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: kind of rise above the fact that they thought someone 280 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,360 Speaker 1: was playing a trick on them. Her teachers mostly traded 281 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: her fairly also, although there was some level of consternation 282 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: about how to handle anatomy lectures on the reproductive system 283 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: when there was a woman in the so occasionally she 284 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: was asked to sit out for particular demonstrations, and some 285 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: of her anatomical studies were conducted in private. Along with 286 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: four of the quote steadier male students, and they pretty 287 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: much treated her in these lectures like an older sister. 288 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: And the town of Geneva, on the other hand, seemed 289 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: to see her as something of an aberration. She was 290 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: stared at in the street, and she gradually learned that 291 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: people believed she was either immoral or insane. Yeah, they 292 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: were pretty much waiting for her to reach some kind 293 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: of chipping point and go on a rampage through the 294 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: town in some way, like the town did not snap. 295 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: She also sometimes did have trouble with the distaste for 296 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: the human body that we talked about earlier. She had 297 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:47,160 Speaker 1: always had this. She was not really sure how she 298 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: was going to deal with it in medical school, and 299 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 1: she wrote in her journal about some dissections that she 300 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: could just barely stand to witness. But this was not 301 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: unique to her at all. Some of her male classmates 302 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: were just as overcome by them as she was. Not 303 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,359 Speaker 1: anything that had anything to do with her sex. No, 304 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,160 Speaker 1: And I think even today when you hear stories from 305 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: friends that have attended medical school, there is a lot 306 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: of like half the people were sick at this lecture 307 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 1: kind of ya. That's not uncommon. Between her first and 308 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: second years of school, she went back to Philadelphia, where 309 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 1: she arranged to study in one of the hospital wards 310 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: at Blockley Alms House, which was later known as Philadelphia 311 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: General Hospital, and in addition to working with Philadelphia's poor, 312 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,920 Speaker 1: she also worked with Irish immigrants displaced by the potato famine, 313 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: many of whom had typhus, and she actually wound up 314 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,359 Speaker 1: writing about typhus for her thesis. They called it ship 315 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:42,680 Speaker 1: fever then, because everybody got it on the ship. Yeah. 316 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: This is one of the places where she really started 317 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:47,199 Speaker 1: realizing that a lot of the problems that people were 318 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: having in terms of sickness work coming straight from hygiene, 319 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: and she became very focused on good hygiene and good 320 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,400 Speaker 1: sanitation as being extremely important to people's health. Um. So, 321 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,880 Speaker 1: while her classmates at Jenny of A We're pretty much 322 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: supportive of the fact that she was there, the doctors 323 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: at the alms House really were not. A lot of 324 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: the residents would just stop working when she came into 325 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: the room. Um and then they stopped writing patients diagnoses 326 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,640 Speaker 1: on their charts to basically make it harder for her. 327 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: She was she wasn't there as a doctor, She was 328 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: there as an observer, and they were basically trying to 329 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: make it so she didn't really have a lot to observe. 330 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: I'm just wondering how that would figure into, for example, 331 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,119 Speaker 1: your hippocratic oath, where you're supposed to be doing everything 332 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:33,360 Speaker 1: you can to take care of a person, and then 333 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:35,360 Speaker 1: you let this petty stuff get in the way. That's 334 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: a great question. Elizabeth returned to Geneva after the summer, 335 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 1: and she graduated at the top of her class in 336 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: eighteen forty nine, becoming the first woman to earn an 337 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,240 Speaker 1: empty from an American medical school. And before we talk 338 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 1: about what happened after medical school, let's take another moment 339 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: and talk about our other sponsor today. That sounds fabulous 340 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,159 Speaker 1: do So to get back to Dr Blackwell, as she 341 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 1: is now, Dr Blackwell, she wanted to become, in her words, 342 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: the first lady surgeon in the world, and she realized 343 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:05,719 Speaker 1: that the education she was going to need to do 344 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: this was still really not open to her in the 345 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,160 Speaker 1: United States. But fortunately some of her cousins who lived 346 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 1: in England had been visiting the US and they invited 347 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 1: her to go back to Europe with them, and so 348 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: she went abroad, studying medicine in London and Paris for 349 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,880 Speaker 1: two years, and she also studied midwiffery while they're at 350 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: La Maternity, which is a school for training midwives. This 351 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:31,120 Speaker 1: was both very difficult and very rewarding. She had very 352 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: little privacy, It's kind of a near monastic experience, and 353 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: because of the nature of midwiffery, she did not get 354 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: very much sleep. She did, though, get an enormous amount 355 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: of hands on experience in a very condensed time frame, 356 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: and a lot of this influenced her practice later, and 357 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: it also kept hammering home on the fact that hygiene 358 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 1: and sanitation were lacking in the world, which needed to 359 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: be fixed and unfortunate. Uh This work and these revelations 360 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 1: are also what derailed her from her plans to become 361 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 1: a surgeon. One day, while she was treating a baby 362 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: that had an eye infection caused by gnarrhea, some of 363 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,160 Speaker 1: the water that she was using splashed into her own eye, 364 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: which became infected as well. She asked for permission to 365 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: leave until it got better, and at first she was denied, 366 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: but then when Monsieur Blott, the intern, realized what was happening, 367 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: he talked to the chief physician who examined her and 368 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: told her to stop work immediately and be treated. This 369 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: effect on her eyesight was pretty much immediate. She she 370 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: couldn't see very well out of it. It was extremely inflamed. 371 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: In addition to the fact that she couldn't see very well, 372 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: it uh like it was disturbing to other people to 373 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:46,240 Speaker 1: look at. It was just a very uh frightening looking infection. 374 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: But Dr Blackwell was hopeful that this was temporary and 375 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: that with treatment it would get better. She continued to 376 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: have flare ups though, and ultimately the eye had to 377 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: be removed and replaced with a glass one, and that 378 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:02,439 Speaker 1: pretty much made a surgical career impossible. She decided to 379 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:05,399 Speaker 1: return to London in eighteen fifty and the cousin wrote 380 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 1: to introduce her to the St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and while 381 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,919 Speaker 1: studying there, she met and worked with the famous Florence Nightingale, 382 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:16,199 Speaker 1: the founder of modern nursing. They were pretty much contemporaries. 383 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: We could have a whole episode on their relationship with 384 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 1: each other. Uh they did not always see eyed eye 385 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: completely on things. Um So Dr Blackwell wanted to practice 386 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: in London, but she didn't have a lot of money. 387 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: She didn't have a huge network of family and friends 388 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,080 Speaker 1: to support her. She ultimately went back to the United States, 389 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,360 Speaker 1: hoping that she could save enough money to go back 390 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:40,400 Speaker 1: to England in ten or fifteen years, and she went 391 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: to New York and she started along and uphill battle 392 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: of trying to build her own practice. And while the 393 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: students at Geneva had welcomed her, the medical community was 394 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: deeply reluctant to associate with her in any way. The 395 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: first people she actually became friends with were Quakers, and 396 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: the Quaker community helped her find locations where she could 397 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: practice medicine and deliver like rs on women's health. And 398 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: she described her practice in those years as a very 399 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:08,679 Speaker 1: Quaker one. There's a sort of a thread of different 400 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: religious influences that tracks through her whole life, with this 401 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:18,160 Speaker 1: being sort of the most recent Quaker faith. She did 402 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: not have very much medical companionship because the other doctors 403 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,880 Speaker 1: were just really suspicious of a woman practicing medicine, and 404 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: so she didn't have much opportunity to learn from other 405 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:34,000 Speaker 1: doctors either. Patients also resisted the idea of seeing a woman, 406 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: and she was such a lonely existence overall that in 407 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: October of eighteen fifty four, she took in a seven 408 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 1: year old orphaned girl who she later adopted, and that 409 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,479 Speaker 1: same year doctor Blackwell's sister, Emily graduated from the Medical 410 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: College of Cleveland. She went on to study in Europe 411 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 1: as well, and when she returned, the sisters started a 412 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,959 Speaker 1: dispensary together. It was clear that the doctor's Blackwell were 413 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: pretty much gonna have to make their own opportunit tunities 414 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,640 Speaker 1: for their practice and for furthering their own medical education, 415 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: So the two of them collaborated with Dr Marie Zakrazuska, 416 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: who and they together opened the New York Infirmary for 417 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: Women and Children in eighteen fifty seven. They basically rented 418 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,600 Speaker 1: a house and then outfitted it for their own purposes. 419 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,159 Speaker 1: This wasn't just a medical facility. It was also a 420 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,240 Speaker 1: place that other women who were doctors and wanted to 421 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,920 Speaker 1: become doctors could find additional work in the training that 422 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: Dr Blackwell herself had not had a lot of success 423 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: finding in the United States, and this, as you can imagine, 424 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 1: was another uphill struggle. In an annual report listed all 425 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: of the objections that the women had encountered. They were 426 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: told that no one would let a house for the 427 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,479 Speaker 1: purpose that female doctors should be looked upon with so 428 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: much suspicion that the police would interfere, that if deaths occurred, 429 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 1: their death certificates would not be recognized, that they would 430 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: be resorted to by classes and persons whom it would 431 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: be an insult to be called upon to deal with. 432 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: As my personal side, I once again have a hippocratic 433 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: oath question mark. There uh that without men as resident physicians, 434 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,439 Speaker 1: they would not be able to control the patients, That 435 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: if any accident occurred, not only the medical profession but 436 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: the public would blame the trustees for supporting such an undertaking. 437 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: And finally, that they would never be able to collect 438 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: money enough for so unpopular an effort giant windmill. They 439 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: made it anyway. Their infirmary eventually flourished. They provided medical 440 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,879 Speaker 1: care and instruction, and they taught poor women how to 441 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 1: care for their children. And this really went on until 442 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: the start of the Civil War. At that point, Dr 443 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 1: Blackwell founded the Women's Central Association of Relief or the 444 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: w c a R, which focused on training women to 445 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: be nurses for injured soldiers and on collecting medical supplies. 446 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty seven, so after the war ended, the 447 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: infirmary opened its own medical college, and by this time 448 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:01,479 Speaker 1: access to medical education and pray. This was vastly different 449 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,120 Speaker 1: for women in the United States, but it still had 450 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,200 Speaker 1: a really long way to go. Many medical programs either 451 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: admitted women to their programs or were exclusively for women, 452 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: although these were generally inferior to men's colleges. Hospitals and 453 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: other facilities were also more open to employing women, although 454 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: the opportunities were still not really numerous, uh, and there 455 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,560 Speaker 1: were still schools that stridently worked against women as students, 456 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: including her alma mater, which rejected Dr Blackwell's sister, which 457 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: I find fascinating. Yeah, it seems like that like that 458 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: worked out great, We're never doing it again. Dr Blackwell 459 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,639 Speaker 1: eventually returned to England again in eighteen sixty nine, and 460 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: what she was hoping to do was to stay there 461 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,119 Speaker 1: a long time and practice medicine. She did wind up 462 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,040 Speaker 1: living there for the rest of her life, but her 463 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:52,399 Speaker 1: health started to decline not long after she arrived. She 464 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: was forced to take a lot of time off to recuperate, 465 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: and by the eighteen seventies she stopped practicing entirely, though 466 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 1: she did continue you to campaign for opportunities for women 467 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 1: in medicine, and she continued to work towards social reform. 468 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 1: She died in nineteen ten, a couple of years after 469 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,320 Speaker 1: a pretty bad fall had had really caused her a 470 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:17,680 Speaker 1: lot of physical and mental issues, and at that point 471 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: she had paved the way for a whole new career 472 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: path for women. She really had. Uh we we haven't 473 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: really talked about a lot of the actual medicine that 474 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 1: she was practicing. Some of that is sort of saw 475 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: bones territory if you haven't given that podcast a listen yet. 476 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: For example, when she like when her own eye infection 477 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,400 Speaker 1: was being treated, which is like, this is an infection 478 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: that was pretty common at the time. It was it 479 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:43,640 Speaker 1: was something would happen to babies when they were born 480 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: to a woman who had gnaria um. Like the treatment 481 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:53,440 Speaker 1: involved leeches on her head. Uh, not very effective at 482 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 1: treating an eye infection caused by ganeria grow. Yeah, there 483 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 1: was a lot of stuff that was kind of gross, 484 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:03,360 Speaker 1: and a lot of the medicine that was being taught 485 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: at that point is actually pretty not recognized as medicine today. 486 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 1: But like that that was the state of medicine, and 487 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,000 Speaker 1: she helped make it a place where women also could 488 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,960 Speaker 1: learn and practice. Um, we didn't. We also didn't talk 489 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: a whole lot about all of her other social reform 490 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: efforts that went on in conjunction with her medical practice 491 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 1: and afterwards. That could be a whole other episode. There 492 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 1: was a lot of that to you. WHOA, well, why 493 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,120 Speaker 1: we think about whether or not that will become an episode? 494 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: Do you want to read some listener mail for us? 495 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: I would. I have listener mail that's from Victoria and 496 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,560 Speaker 1: she says, high ladies, I've just finished listening to your 497 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 1: Jane Austin podcast and you mentioned the history book that 498 00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:45,200 Speaker 1: she wrote before Penning Eleanor and Maryanne had to email 499 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:47,040 Speaker 1: you because I think I actually own a copy of 500 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: this very book. The inside cover states that she wrote 501 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: it in seventeen nine, which would be six years before 502 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: Pride and Prejudice, when she was sixteen. It's very short, 503 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 1: only about fifteen pages, but utterly delightful, and I think 504 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,120 Speaker 1: you would love it if you have read it already. 505 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: I particularly adore the title, which is the history of 506 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:12,399 Speaker 1: England by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian, and then 507 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 1: it says there will be very few dates in this history, 508 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,160 Speaker 1: which is I feel that way in page history. Yeah, sure, 509 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 1: how deep he could go? Actually feel that way about 510 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,359 Speaker 1: our episodes. Sometimes there are very few dates in our 511 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,879 Speaker 1: episodes sometimes because it just becomes dates, soup and the 512 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 1: There are other things that we can talk about besides 513 00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 1: a whole long list of dates. Um so, yes, Victoria, Uh, 514 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 1: you can find this on the internet. Also if you 515 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: want the very brief and very biased history of England, 516 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,720 Speaker 1: which is pretty great. Um so, yes, we will put 517 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: a link to that in our shore notes. I pretty 518 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: quickly was able to dig it up on the internet. 519 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: Victoria was like, I've read this. I was like, you know, 520 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: probably find that easy. Uh. And then she signs off 521 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,480 Speaker 1: as Vicky. So perhaps I should have called Vicky that 522 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,479 Speaker 1: at the beginning. Perhaps thank you very much for writing 523 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: to us. Vicky. You have sounded like a disappointed mom 524 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:07,920 Speaker 1: to begin with. I am often a disappointed mom when 525 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: I when I mess myself up somehow. Uh So, anyway, 526 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 1: thank you Vicky for writing to us. If you would 527 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can. We're at History 528 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: Podcast at Discovery dot com. We're also on Facebook at 529 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com slash missed in History and on Twitter 530 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 1: at miss in History. A tumbler is missed in History 531 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: dot tumbler dot com. Our pinterest is pinterest dot com 532 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: slash miss in history. If you're wondering why we've used 533 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: miss in history so many times for so many different aliases, 534 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: it is to match our brand new website. Yes, it's 535 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 1: all sparkly and fresh. It is called www dot miss 536 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: in history dot com. You can listen to every single 537 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: episode we've ever done on the website. It's much easier 538 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 1: to search our blog. Yeah, are we're We're slowly the tagging. 539 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: We're We're going to be working on tagging episodes for 540 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: a while, I think, But once they are all tagged, 541 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: there will be many, many things that you can click 542 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 1: if you want to see everything that's about shipwrecks, or 543 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: it's about pirates, or everything that's about sad royal childhoods 544 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: or various other things that we talk about often. Yeah, 545 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: so yes, that is missed in History dot com. If 546 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 1: you want to come pay us a visit. If you 547 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: would like to learn more about what we talked about today, 548 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:17,320 Speaker 1: you can come to our website. Just put the word 549 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 1: Blackwell in our search bar and you will find how 550 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: Ladies Aid Societies worked, which talks about UH the ladies 551 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,400 Speaker 1: aid societies that flourished during this period in history, and 552 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: there's a page on Dr Blackwell and her work during 553 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: the Civil War. You can do all that and a 554 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 1: whole lot more at how stuff works dot com for 555 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Because it 556 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: has stuff works dot com, Netflix streams TV shows and 557 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: movies directly to your home, saving you time, money, and hassle. 558 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: As an Flex member, you can instantly watch TV episodes 559 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 1: and movies streaming directly to your PC, Mac, or right 560 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: to your TV with your Xbox three, sixty P S 561 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 1: three or Nintendo we console, plus Apple devices, Kindle and Nook. 562 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:17,000 Speaker 1: Get a free thirty day trial membership. Go to www 563 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 1: dot Netflix dot com and sign up now.