DOCTOR - RESOURCES
Doctor - Elizabeth Blackwell (from Jonathan Sprout’s 2009 AMERICAN HEROES #3 Grammy-Nominated Album)
A music video by Jonathan Sprout about Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman doctor in the United States.
Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) overcame great opposition to become the first woman doctor in America. After receiving 28 rejections from medical schools, she was accepted by Geneva Medical College, but only because it was believed her application was a joke. In spite of the prejudice she experienced, she graduated first in her class. Later, Miss Blackwell fought an uphill battle to open the first hospital staffed by women physicians and the first medical college to train women doctors. It was her dedication to creating a medical community for women, children and the poor that ultimately distinguished her as a true medical pioneer
My band (Leslie Chew, Jimmy Hammer, Dave Kinnoin, Hillary Black) and I performed this song in Los Angeles at the Grammys on January 30, 2010. What a thrill!
“If society will not admit of woman’s free development, then society must be remodeled.”
Here are some excellent resources for getting to know Elizabeth Blackwell.
Here’s the thoroughly-linked Wikipedia Elizabeth Blackwell page. This includes several “new” photos of her I had not seen when I researched her for my 2009 album, American Heroes #3.
You can learn about “Bessie” Blackwell and the song I wrote about her at my Jonathan Sprout website.
“It is not easy to be a pioneer, but, oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.”
“The idea of winning a doctor’s degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle, and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me.”
“For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.”