Who Is Elizabeth Blackwell? Why Google Is Celebrating the Pioneer

Google is celebrating Elizabeth Blackwell’s 197th birthday on Feb. 3 with a Google Doodle tribute.

The Google Doodle shows Blackwell, a pioneer of medical and feminist history, at a desk covered with books, medical supplies and a classic leather doctor’s bag. The sketch was drawn by Harriet Lee Merrion, who lives in the town where Blackwell was born almost two centuries ago, according to an announcement from Google.

Here’s what to know about Elizabeth Blackwell on her birthday.

Elizabeth Blackwell Biography

Blackwell, who would go on to become the first woman in America to earn a medical degree, was born in Bristol, England, in 1821. Her family immigrated to the U.S. about 10 years later, settling in Ohio, according to the National Women’s History Museum.

Originally a teacher, Blackwell decided to pursue medicine after a dying friend told her she wished she had a female doctor, according to the Women’s History Museum. Despite the fact that medical schools did not accept women at the time, Blackwell applied and eventually attended New York’s Geneva College. After graduating, she and one of her sisters, who also became a doctor, went on to open the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, the Women’s History Museum writes.

Later in her career, Blackwell also opened a women’s medical school in New York City, became a professor of gynecology in London and wrote extensively, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Elizabeth Blackwell Facts

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