Elizabeth Blackwell timeline

Elizabeth Blackwell is born

Born in England, Elizabeth Blackwell was educated in her early years by private tutor. Samuel Blackwell, her father, moved the family to the United... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell takes up career in teaching

After the death of her father, Blackwell took up a career in teaching in Kentucky. She did this to make money to pay for medical school. Blackwell... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell moves to North Carolina to study medicine

She became active in the anti-slavery movement (as did her brother Henry Brown Blackwell who married Lucy Stone, a suffragist). Another brother,... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell is accepted to Geneva College

She attended Geneva College in New York. She was accepted there — anecdotally, because the faculty put it to a student vote, and the students... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell is banned from most hospitals and moves to Paris

Banned from practice in most hospitals she was advised to go to Paris, France and train at La Maternité, but while she was there her training was... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell becomes first women to earn medical degree in US

When they discovered that she was serious, both students and townspeople were horrified. She had few allies and was an outcast in Geneva. At first,... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell returns to New York

Blackwell returned to New York in 1851 but was unable to practice medicine for several years because no institution would hire her. During this... Read more

Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell open New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children

Known worldwide as the first woman to receive her degree as a Doctor of Medicine, Elizabeth Blackwell represents a historic moment in modern... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell establishes a Women's Medical College

During the American Civil War, Blackwell trained many women to be nurses and sent them to the Union Army. Many women were interested and received... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell and Florence Nightingale opened the Women's Medical College in England

In 1857 Blackwell returned to England where she attended Bedford College for Women for one year. In 1858, under a clause in the 1858 Medical Act... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell becomes a Professor of Gynaecology at the London School of Medicine

Blackwell taught at created London School of Medicine for Women and accepted a chair in gynecology. She retired a year later. During her... Read more

Elizabeth Blackwell Dies

In 1907 Blackwell was injured in a fall from which she never fully recovered. She died on 31 May 1910 at her home in Hastings in Sussex after a... Read more