Sarah Hackett Stevenson
Encyclopedia
Sarah Ann Hackett Stevenson (February 2, 1841 - August 14, 1909) was an early female physician in Illinois
, and the first female member of the American Medical Association
(AMA).
Born in Buffalo Grove, Illinois
, she began her studies at the Mount Carroll Seminary
(which later became Shimer College
), continuing to Illinois State Normal University where she graduated in 1863. She taught school and served as principal in Sterling, Illinois
, but later moved to Chicago to study medicine at Woman's Hospital Medical College, where she obtained her MD in 1874, having in the meantime also spent a year in England studying under Thomas Huxley
. In 1875, she took up a professorship at the Woman's Hospital Medical College, which later became part of Northwestern University
but was closed in 1892.
In 1876, attending the AMA convention as a delegate of the Illinois State Medical Society, she was accepted without controversy as the AMA's first female member. In 1880 she co-founded the Illinois Training School for Nurses together with Lucy Flowers. She retired in 1903.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and the first female member of the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
(AMA).
Born in Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Buffalo Grove is an affluent village located in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and in Cook and Lake counties in Illinois, United States. The town was named for Buffalo Creek, which was itself named for bison bones found in the area....
, she began her studies at the Mount Carroll Seminary
Mount Carroll Seminary
The Mount Carroll Seminary was the name of Shimer College from 1853 to 1896. The Seminary was located in Mount Carroll, Illinois, in the United States. A pioneering institution in its time and place, the Mount Carroll Seminary served as a center of culture and education in 19th-century...
(which later became Shimer College
Shimer College
Shimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...
), continuing to Illinois State Normal University where she graduated in 1863. She taught school and served as principal in Sterling, Illinois
Sterling, Illinois
Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,370 at the 2010 census, down from 15,451 at the 2000 census. Formerly nicknamed "The Hardware Capital of the World", Sterling has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel...
, but later moved to Chicago to study medicine at Woman's Hospital Medical College, where she obtained her MD in 1874, having in the meantime also spent a year in England studying under Thomas Huxley
Thomas Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
. In 1875, she took up a professorship at the Woman's Hospital Medical College, which later became part of Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
but was closed in 1892.
In 1876, attending the AMA convention as a delegate of the Illinois State Medical Society, she was accepted without controversy as the AMA's first female member. In 1880 she co-founded the Illinois Training School for Nurses together with Lucy Flowers. She retired in 1903.
Writings
- Boys and Girls in Biology (1875)
- The Physiology of Women (1880)
- Wife and Mother: Or, Information for Every Woman' (1888)