In Pursuit of a Grand Cause

Sarah Hackett Stevenson, MD

Sarah Hackett Stevenson, MD, was the 1874 valedictorian of the Woman’s Hospital Medical College. After studying abroad, she became a professor of physiology and histology at the college, and later taught obstetrics, ethics, and history. She had a private practice and was on staff at half a dozen area hospitals. Stevenson was the first female member of the American Medical Association (1876), the first woman on staff at Cook County Hospital (1881), and the first woman appointed to the Illinois State Board of Health (1893). She also co-founded a nursing school, a maternity hospital, and two homes for needy populations. In her spare time, she was an active member of 10+ social and professional clubs.

When it became apparent that the Medical Bureau of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition would not honor its promise to employ three women doctors at the fair, Stevenson and her peers were determined that the female physician community would be represented. They raised funds for an Illinois Woman’s Hospital and Pharmacy building, staffed entirely by female doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from the state. The building was a living exhibit; the staff treated over 3000 patients in the model wards and operating rooms.

Stevenson was committed to the betterment of women. She worked to provide women with quality medical care, advocated for women's rights and welfare, and championed women's abilities as physicians, fighting for equality of opportunity in medical education.

By: Katie Lattal

Emma Ann Reynolds, MD

Emma Ann Reynolds, MD, was born in Frankfort, Ohio, in 1862, when the 13th Amendment—which declared slavery illegal—had yet to be ratified. Reynolds graduated from Wilberforce University, a historically black university, and moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to teach. Ther,e she noticed extreme health disparities between blacks and whites. Determined to meet the health needs of the African American community, Reynolds applied to nursing schools, only to experience rejection repeatedly because she was black. She consulted Daniel H. Williams, MD, a prominent African American surgeon, for support, and this led to the opening of Provident Hospital, the first hospital in Chicago owned and operated by African Americans. Reynolds graduated from Provident Hospital’s nursing school in 1892. Three years later, she became the first African American woman to receive her MD from Northwestern University Woman’s Medical School.

Reynolds divided her time between private practice, hospital work, and teaching positions in nursing schools. She followed her brother, Rev. Louis Reynolds, as he moved around the country, working in Waco, TX, New Orleans, LA, and Washington, DC. In 1902, she moved back to Frankfort, Ohio, and remained there until her death in 1917.

By: Abebi Espinoza

Alice Hamilton, MD

Alice Hamilton, MD, began her career as a professor of pathology at the Northwestern University Woman’s Medical School in 1897. She lived at Hull House and befriended other women known for social reform such as Jane Addams and Florence Kelly. Not far from her residence, she noticed poverty and a high rate of disease among the immigrant population. This sparked her interest in and study of what is now known as occupational health.

Hamilton was appointed Special Investigator for the United States Bureau of Labor in 1911. Her studies focused on lead and its link to high mortality rates among factory workers. She educated employers and individuals in the medical industry on workplace hazards and industrial diseases among the immigrant working class.

In 1919, Hamilton became Assistant Professor of Industrial Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She was the first woman to be a professor at Harvard University. She authored the books Industrial Poisons in the United States in 1925 and Industrial Toxicology in 1934. After her retirement from Harvard, she continued her work with industrial disease as a consultant in the Division of Labor Standards within the Department of Labor.

By: Abebi Espinoza