A-Z of Famous Bristolians - B: Elizabeth Blackwell

A-Z of Famous Bristolians - B: Elizabeth Blackwell

Posted on: 07 Dec 2023

Next up on our A – Z of famous (and infamous) Bristolians is Elizabeth Blackwell; born in Bristol, she was the first woman to receive a medical degree in America.

 

Following on from our feature debut on Archibald Leach – AKA Cary Grant – we have another Bristolian emigree who settled in the US. Read on to discover more about Blackwell’s talented family, her pioneering work as a social reformer, her relationship with ‘The Lady with The Lamp’ and much more…

 

 

Born in Counterslip, Bristol on 3 February 1821, Elizabeth was the third of nine children to Hannah Lane and Samuel Blackwell – a notable sugar refiner and abolitionist. She was not the only member of her family to have a notable life; brother Samuel was a keen anti-slavery campaigner who married Antoinette Brown, the first woman to be ordained as a Protestant minister. Brother Henry was a celebrated social/economic reformer who was a founding member of the Republican Party. Astonishingly, Elizabeth’s sister, Ellen, was the second woman in the US to get a medical degree – following her sister!

 

The family moved to St Pauls in 1824, but made an even bigger move in 1832, emigrating to America. They settled in Ohio with Samuel Senior’s abolitionist work meaning the children were raised with a strong knowledge of progressive issues. However, Samuel passed away in 1839, leaving the family in financial difficulty.

 

To make ends meet, Elizabeth, her mother and sisters (who had been well educated) set up a school and began teaching - a mainly female profession at the time. Her career change was inspired by a terminally ill family friend who said her treatment would have been more bearable if she had been treated by a female doctor.

 

Inspired to make a difference, Elizabeth applied to various medical colleges but was rejected by all but one, New York’s Geneva Medical College – where she was accepted purely as a joke by the all-male student body. However, despite discrimination throughout her time at the college (including often being excluded from the labs), she graduated first in her class in 1849 – becoming the first woman to receive an M.D. degree from a US medical school.

 

Months later, Blackwell – who was spending time in Europe – met Florence Nightingale at the latter’s family home. The pair bonded over their comparable struggles, however, when they met again in 1859, things were very different. While Nightingale had become a household name, Blackwell’s early success had stalled due to societal prejudices. Ever a headstrong character, Elizabeth wanted Florence’s help to open a small hospital staffed by female doctors and focusing on women’s diseases. Nightingale rejected the proposition and the two were openly critical of each other after this.

 

“If society will not admit of woman’s free development, then society must be remodelled.”

Elizabeth Blackwell

 

Despite her struggles, 1859 saw Blackwell defy all odds to become the first woman to be named on the British General Medical Council register. Her good work continued: in 1868 a medical school was added to her New York women’s hospital, in 1871 (having moved to London) she founded the National Health Society which aimed to educate the public on hygiene and healthy lifestyles, and in 1874 – alongside physicians Sophia Blake and Elizabeth Garret Anderson – she opened the London School of Medicine for Women.

 

Elizabeth Blackwell died in May 1910, aged 89. While never married, she left behind an Irish orphan, Kitty Barry who she adopted in 1856 and became a life companion as well as a servant of sorts. After Elizabeth’s death, Kitty moved in with the Blackwell family, taking the family name. To this day, Elizabeth Blackwell is celebrated as a pioneer of women’s healthcare.

 

Educational tools to find out more about Elizabeth Blackwell include The National Women's History Museum and On Separate Roads: Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Blackwell by Lois A. Monteiro.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.