ELIZABETH BLACKWELL

You are going to read an article about the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. For questions 1 - 6, choose the answer (A, B, C, D) which you think fits best according to the text

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821, in Bristol, England. Her father Samuel Blackwell hired private tutors who went against English tradition and instructed the girls in the same subjects as the boys. When Elizabeth was twelve years old, Samuel Blackwell brought his family to New York, America. Samuel Blackwell soon became a strong supporter of abolition, the movement to end slavery in America. He also established a sugar refinery in New York City and was doing well until 1837. In 1838 the Blackwells moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, hoping for a new start. But within a few months Samuel Blackwell died. The three oldest girls supported the family for several years by operating a boarding school for young women.

In 1842 Elizabeth Blackwell accepted a teaching position in Henderson, Kentucky, but local racial attitudes offended her strong abolitionist beliefs and she resigned at the end of the year. On her return to Cincinnati, a friend urged Elizabeth to study medicine. Friends discouraged her, though, and even recommended that, if she chose to study medicine, her best choice was to move to France, disguise herself as a man, and only then would she be accepted into medical school. In 1845 Blackwell moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where she taught school and, with the help of physician John Dickson, studied medicine in her spare time. Her next move, in 1846, was to a girls' school in Charleston, South Carolina, where she had more time to devote to her medical studies, this time under the guidance of Dickson's brother, Samuel.

After being rejected by twenty-nine different medical schools, she was admitted to the Geneva, New York, Medical College in 1847. At first, Blackwell couldn’t even attend classroom demonstrations. Soon, however, Blackwell's quiet personality and hard work won over her classmates and teaching staff. Her graduation in 1849 was highly publicized on both sides of the Atlantic. She then entered La Maternité Hospital for further study and practical experience. While working with the children, she contracted an eye infection which left her blind in one eye and she gave up her ambition to become a surgeon. In 1851, she applied for several positions as a physician in New York, but was rejected because she was a woman. Blackwell then established a private practice in a rented room, where her sister Emily, who had also pursued a medical career, soon joined her. Their medical office later became the New York Infirmary and College for Women. Dr. Blackwell also continued to fight for the admission of women to medical schools.

In 1869 Dr. Blackwell set up practice in London and continued her efforts to open the medical profession to women. Her articles and her autobiography (1895) attracted widespread attention. From 1875 to 1907 she was a professor at the London School of Medicine for Women. She died at her home in Hastings in 1910, leaving behind a legacy that would pave the way for countless generations of female physicians.

 Adapted from otablebiographies.com