Back in the 1830’s, there were lots of things the girls were not allowed to be. One of those was to be a doctor. Girls were only supposed to become wives and mother. Or at best may be teachers, or seamstresses. But Elizabeth Blackwell was the first lady to make it an exception.
From her very childhood, Elizabeth Blackwell was very much interested to explore around every corner and never walked away from a challenge. A girl who tried sleeping on the hard floor with no covers, just to toughen herself up. A girl who climbed up to her roof and stretched out as far as possible with a spyglass to see what was happening on the other side of the town. But she never thought to become a doctor. And she had not always wanted to help the sick. She had no patience for being sick herself. Whenever she fell ill, she simply went outside for a walk. Once, when she was little, she hid in a closet until she felt better. She hated anyone fussing over her. So, the question arises, what made her to become the first woman doctor in the world. This is because there was someone who believed that Elizabeth was just the kind of smart, determined girl who could change conception of the world and that was none other than Mary Donaldson, a friend of Elizabeth. When Elizabeth was 24, she went to visit her friend who was very ill. Mary told Elizabeth that she would have much preferred being examined by a woman doctor. She urged Elizabeth to consider becoming a doctor.
At first Elizabeth could not believe her ears. Even if a girl could be a doctor, why would she want to be one ?
But Mary’s idea gnawed at Elizabeth. Elizabeth thought about it the second she got up in the morning. She thought about it during sewing circle. She thought about it over tea. She even dreamt about it at night.
Finally, Elizabeth asked doctors and friends. Some thought it was a good idea, but did not think there was any way it could be done. Others said it was not right.
Some people actually laughed at her. They thought she was joking. Elizabeth did not see anything funny about a woman becoming a doctor.
Elizabeth thought it was a fine idea, and her family supported her. She worked as a teacher to earn money and applied to a handful of medical schools seeking admission. But they all rejected her applications. Reason is that no women are allowed. There were twenty-eight such rejections. In different ways, all the rejection letters said the same thing: Women cannot be doctors. They should not be doctors.
But Elizabeth didn’t believe in couldn’t or shouldn’t. One day, an envelope arrived from a college. She opened it and everything changed. The letter said..’YES’!
Elizabeth packed her bags for Geneva Medical School in upstate New York. The townspeople were expecting her. As she walked down the street, some pointed and stared. They whispered to themselves that she must be wicked or crazy.
Elizabeth thought that at least the students wanted her there. But they did not. The teachers had let the students vote on whether or not to allow Elizabeth to come. And the boys, figuring the school would never really accept a girl, said yes. They planned to turn the whole thing into a big joke. But the joke was on them!
Some thought a girl wouldn’t be able to keep up. Except Elizabeth did keep up, often studying past midnight. Elizabeth proved she was as smart as any boy.
On January 23, 1849, Elizabeth graduated with the highest grades in the whole class. She had become the first woman doctor in America.
Although many people were proud, others were angry. One doctor even wrote, “I hope, for the honor of humanity, that [she] will be the last.”
But as you know, she certainly was not the last.
This is the story of Elizabeth Blackell, a British Physician. She was born on the 3rd February, 1821 and died on the 31st May,1910.