Elizabeth Blackwell

Blackwell, Elizabeth (1821–1910), English-born U.S. physician, first woman to be granted a medical degree in the United States. Refused admission to various medical schools, she graduated from the Geneva (N.Y.) Medical College in 1847. In 1857 she and her sister opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, which was entirely staffed by women, and in 1868 she helped found its Women's Medical College. Returning to England, she taught at the London School of Medicine for Women.