Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree. She was born in Bristol, England in 1821. When she was 17 years old, she moved with her parents and siblings to Cincinnati, Ohio. She later worked as a teacher, first in Kentucky and then in North Carolina. Eventually, she decided that she wished to study medicine, partially due to interest in the subject, and partially due to the desire to enter a profession that no woman in the country had yet entered. After being rejected by various schools due to her gender, she attended Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York. She excelled as a student and earned a medical degree.

She then went to England and Paris to continue her education, although nearly every medical institution she approached turned her away due to her gender. She then went to New York...