page_title: Women in medicine
section_title: 19th century
hierarchical_section_title: Women in medicine / Women's contributions to medicine in the United States / Pioneering women in early modern medicine / 19th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Vera Gedroitz and Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova Русский: Вера Гедройц и императрица Александра Фёдоровна Романова
context_page_description: The presence of women in medicine, particularly in the practicing fields of surgery and as physicians, has been traced to earliest human history. Women have historically had lower participation levels in medical fields compared to men with occupancy rates varying by race, socioeconomic status, and geography.
  Women's informal practice of medicine in roles such as caregivers, or as allied health professionals, has been widespread. Since the start of the 20th century, most countries of the world provide women with equal access to medical education. Not all countries ensure equal employment opportunities, and gender equality has yet to be achieved within medical specialties and around the world, studies suggesting that female doctors may be providing higher-quality care than male doctors.
context_section_description: Jennie Kidd Trout (21 April 1841 – 10 November 1921) was the first woman in Canada to become a licensed medical doctor, in March 1875.
  Lilian Welsh (1858–1938), first woman full professor at Goucher College.
  Matilde Montoya (1859–1939), first female physician in Mexico, in 1887.
  Dolors Aleu i Riera (1857–1913), first female medical doctor from Spain, 1879.
  Annie Lowrie Alexander (1864–1929), first licensed female physician in the Southern United States
  Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836–1917), pioneering female doctor and feminist in Britain; co-founder of London School of Medicine for Women.
  Lovisa Årberg (1801–1881), first female doctor and surgeon in Sweden.
  Amalia Assur (1803–1889), first female dentist in Sweden and possibly Europe.
  Alice Mary Barry (1880–1955), doctor and first women nominated fellow of the RCPI
  Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), first woman to graduate from medical school in the US; MD 1849, Geneva College, New York.
  Madeleine Brès (1839–1925), the first French female MD
  Milica Šviglin Čavov (b. unknown, circa 1870s), the first Croatian female doctor. She graduated from the Medical School in Zürich in 1893, but was not allowed to work in Croatia.
  Margaret Cleaves (1848–1917), pioneering doctor in the brachytherapy; M.D. 1873.
  Irene Condachi (1899–1970), M.D. 1927, one of only two practicing female doctors in Malta during World War II.
  Rebecca Lee Crumpler, (8 February 1831 – 9 March 1895), first African American female physician in the United States, awarded her M.D. in 1864 by New England Female Medical College in Boston.
  Jane Cummins (1899), DMRE, DTM&H and officer in the WRAF
  Maria Cuțarida-Crătunescu (1857–1919) the first female doctor in Romania
  Bertha De Vriese (1877–1958), the first Belgian woman to obtain a medical degree from Ghent University.
  Eloísa Díaz (1866–1950), the first Chilean woman to graduate from Medicine in the Universidad de Chile. She graduated on 27 December 1886 and obtained her degree on 3 January 1887.
  Marie Durocher (1809–1893), Brazilian obstetrician, midwife and physician. First female doctor in Americas.
  Marie Equi (1872–1952), American doctor and activist for women's access to birth control and abortion.
  Anne Walter Fearn (1865–1938) Doctor in Shanghai, China, for almost 40 years.
  Selma Feldbach (5 May 1878 – 2 April 1924) was the first Estonian woman to become a medical doctor.
  Kadambini Ganguly (1861–1923), the first Indian woman to obtain a medical degree in India, graduated from the Calcutta Medical College in 1886.
  Vera Gedroitz (1870–1932), the first professorix of surgery in the world
  Ogino Ginko (1851–1913), first licensed and practicing female physician of western medicine in Japan.
  Anastasia Golovina, also known as Anastassya Nikolau Berladsky-Golovina, and Atanasya Golovina (1850–1933), the first Bulgarian female doctor.
  Alice Hamilton (27 February 1869 – 22 September 1970) was an American physician, research scientist, and author who is best known as a leading expert in the field of occupational health and a pioneer in the field of industrial toxicology. She was also the first woman appointed to the faculty of Harvard University. 
  Mary Josephine Hannan (1865–1935), first Irishwoman to graduate LRCPI & SI and LM
  Mary Hearn (1891–1969), gynaecologist and first women fellow of the RCPI
  Rosina Heikel (1842–1929), the first female physician in Finland (1878), as well as the first in the Nordic countries, MD and feminist.
  Matilde Hidalgo (1889–1974), the first Ecuadorian woman to have obtained a medical degree.
  Frances Hoggan (1843–1927), first British woman to receive a doctorate in medicine (1870).
  Johanna Hellman (1889–1982), was a German physician who specialized in surgery, and the first female to be a member of the German Society for Surgery.
  Marie Spångberg Holth (1865-1942), the first woman to graduate in medicine in Norway, which occurred in 1893, when she graduated from the Royal Frederiks University of Christiania.
  Ana Galvis Hotz (1855–1934), first Colombian woman, and from Latin America, to obtain a medical degree.
  Elsie Inglis (1864–1917) Pioneering
caption: Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with Vera Gedroitz, 1915
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