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Blackwell's Move to New York
In 1832, the Blackwell's moved to New York following the burning down of Elizabeth's father's sugar cane factory in England. While in New York, the Blackwell's converted and became Quakers, a Protestant Christian church that was anti-slavery. This change of religion was the reason that Elizabeth was an abolitionist and eventually joined the nurses on the Union side in the Civil War. -
Elizabeth Becomes a Teahcer
In 1839, Elizabeth moved into Kentucky to become a teacher. Her father had recently passed due to fever soon after they moved into Cincinnati, Ohio. Elizabeth and her sisters taught in their house to earn money; however, after they stopped Elizabeth continued to pursue teaching by moving to Henderson, Kentucky. She eventually resigned, though, because she was disgusted with the slavery in a southern states. -
Elizabeth Moves to North Carolina to Teach Slaves
After a close friend of hers told Elizabeth that the sickness would have been more bearable had the doctor been female, Elizabeth began to teach in Asheville, North Carolina to earn money for medical school. She wanted to teach slave children but, upon learning that it was illegal, settled with teaching in a Sunday School. In her spare time, she studied medicine under Dr. John Dickinson and attempted to get into medical school. -
Elizabeth Goes to College
Throughout her years of learning under various doctors in the South, Elizabeth sent thirty applications to different medical schools. Finally, she sent one to Geneva Medical College in New York, where they believed that it was a joke by another rival college. All of the students were shocked when she showed up and, while she was initially given bad treatment, the teachers and students warmed up to her. -
Elizabeth Graduates at the Top of her Class
In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated at the top of her class from Geneva Medical College. Her graduating thesis was about typhus and the importance of hygiene, which eventually became very important to her. Elizabeth became the first woman in America to earn a medical degree and set out to become a surgeon. -
Starts an Infirmiary
After losing sight in one eye in France due to infection, Elizabeth returned to New York. She attempted to find work as a physician in several places, but she was not accepted because she was a woman. Later, Elizabeth, her sister, and another female doctor opened the "New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children". It eventually became a college and a place for nurse training. -
Elizabeth Helps Train Nurses for the Civil War
In 1861, the Civil War started and Elizabeth Blackwell and Clara Barton began working together to train nurses. She also promoted sanitary care for the soldiers. Although Elizabeth had originally planned to open a college for women, she was forced to put the plan on hold until after the Civil War was over. -
Helps Start the Women's Central Association of Relief
During the Civil War, Elizabeth Blackwell, with her sister and Florence Nightingale, started the Women's Central Association of Relief (WCAR). Dr. Blackwell hoped to give women a chance to help the Union soldiers during the war. This Association worked with women to provide food, medical supplies, and clothing to Union soldier, and over four thousand women joined. -
Elizabeth Helped Established the US Sanitary Commission
In 1861, during the Civil War, Elizabeth Blackwell worked together with Mary Livermore to create the US Sanitary Commission (USSC). The US Sanitary Commission aimed to promote healthy conditions in the army camp because so many soldiers were dying from illnesses due to bad sanitation. It also helped raise money to clean, staff, and provide supplies to the camps. -
Blackwell Sisters Open a College
With her sister and Marie Zakrzewska, Elizabeth Blackwell founded the Women's Medical College of the New York Infirmary. Their college opened with the intent of educating women, and in the beginning there were fifteen students and nine staff members. Elizabeth taught about hygiene and her sister taught obstetrics and about women's diseases. The college stayed open up until 1899, which was when other colleges began to accept woman applicants.
