Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi
Encyclopedia
Mary Corinna Putnam was an American
physician
, writer
, and suffragist who was the first woman to become a member of the Faculté de Médecine de Paris.
and Victorine Haven Putnam, she was born in London
, where her father had been living since 1841 while establishing a branch office for his New York City
publishing company, Wiley & Putnam. She was the oldest of eleven children.
Mary Putnam's parents returned to the United States in 1848, and she spent her childhood and adolescence in New York City. She got most of her early education at home along with two years at a new public school for girls on 12th Street where she graduated in 1859. She published a story, "Found and Lost," in the April 1860 issue of Atlantic Monthly, and a year later she published another. After her 1859 graduation, she studied Greek, and science, and medicine privately with Elizabeth Blackwell
and others. Her father thought medicine a "repulsive" profession, but ultimately supported her endeavor.
She graduated from the New York College of Pharmacy in 1863 and earned her M.D.
from the Female (later Women's) Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1864. A short internship at New England Hospital for Women and Children
showed her she needed further study before practicing medicine. She left for Paris, France where she applied to the École de Médecine. After much negotiation, she was admitted as the first woman student. She graduated in July 1871, the second woman to get a degree there, and received second prize for her thesis.
Her studies in Paris coincided with the Franco-Prussian War
. In Scribner's Monthly of August 1871, she published an account of the new French political leadership that came to power following the war.
After returning to the United States in the fall of 1871, she established a medical practice in New York City, became the second woman member of the Medical Society of the County of New York, was admitted to the American Medical Association
, and became a professor in the new Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary. In 1872 she organized the Association for the Advancement of the Medical Education of Women and served as its president from 1874 to 1903. Her teaching at the Medical College tended to exceed what her students were prepared for and led her to resign in 1888.
She received Harvard University
's Boylston Prize in 1876 for an original essay, The Question of Rest for Women during Menstruation. In 1891 she contributed a paper on the history of women physicians in the United States to the volume Women's Work in America that included a bibliography of writings by American female physicians that mentioned over forty of her own works.
In 1873, Mary Putnam married Dr. Abraham Jacobi
who is often referred to as the "father of American pediatrics." They had three children, though only one survived to adulthood, Marjorie Jacobi McAneny. She educated her daughter herself according to her own educational theories.
She wrote more than 100 medical papers. She stopped writing fiction in 1871.
She died in New York city in 1906, considered an outstanding physician and the foremost female physician of her era.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and suffragist who was the first woman to become a member of the Faculté de Médecine de Paris.
Biography
The daughter of George Palmer PutnamGeorge Palmer Putnam
George Palmer Putnam was an important American book publisher.-Biography:Putnam was born in Brunswick, Maine. On moving to New York City, Putnam was given his first job by Jonathan Leavitt, who subsequently published Putnam's first book...
and Victorine Haven Putnam, she was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where her father had been living since 1841 while establishing a branch office for his New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
publishing company, Wiley & Putnam. She was the oldest of eleven children.
Mary Putnam's parents returned to the United States in 1848, and she spent her childhood and adolescence in New York City. She got most of her early education at home along with two years at a new public school for girls on 12th Street where she graduated in 1859. She published a story, "Found and Lost," in the April 1860 issue of Atlantic Monthly, and a year later she published another. After her 1859 graduation, she studied Greek, and science, and medicine privately with Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female doctor in the United States and the first on the UK Medical Register...
and others. Her father thought medicine a "repulsive" profession, but ultimately supported her endeavor.
She graduated from the New York College of Pharmacy in 1863 and earned her M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the Female (later Women's) Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1864. A short internship at New England Hospital for Women and Children
New England Hospital for Women and Children
New England Hospital for Women and Children was opened in Boston, Massachusetts on July 1, 1862 by Dr. Marie Zakrzewska and Ednah Dow Cheney. The Hospital remained dedicated to women and children until the 1950s when it became financially deficient and after recommendations from the United...
showed her she needed further study before practicing medicine. She left for Paris, France where she applied to the École de Médecine. After much negotiation, she was admitted as the first woman student. She graduated in July 1871, the second woman to get a degree there, and received second prize for her thesis.
Her studies in Paris coincided with the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
. In Scribner's Monthly of August 1871, she published an account of the new French political leadership that came to power following the war.
After returning to the United States in the fall of 1871, she established a medical practice in New York City, became the second woman member of the Medical Society of the County of New York, was admitted to 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:...
, and became a professor in the new Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary. In 1872 she organized the Association for the Advancement of the Medical Education of Women and served as its president from 1874 to 1903. Her teaching at the Medical College tended to exceed what her students were prepared for and led her to resign in 1888.
She received Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Boylston Prize in 1876 for an original essay, The Question of Rest for Women during Menstruation. In 1891 she contributed a paper on the history of women physicians in the United States to the volume Women's Work in America that included a bibliography of writings by American female physicians that mentioned over forty of her own works.
In 1873, Mary Putnam married Dr. Abraham Jacobi
Abraham Jacobi
Abraham Jacobi was a pioneer of pediatrics, opening the first children's clinic in the United States. To date, he is the only foreign born president of the American Medical Association.-Biography:...
who is often referred to as the "father of American pediatrics." They had three children, though only one survived to adulthood, Marjorie Jacobi McAneny. She educated her daughter herself according to her own educational theories.
She wrote more than 100 medical papers. She stopped writing fiction in 1871.
She died in New York city in 1906, considered an outstanding physician and the foremost female physician of her era.
Works
- De la graisse neutre et de les acides gras (Paris thesis, 1871)
- The Question of Rest for Women during Menstruation (1876)
- Acute Fatty Degeneration of New Born (1878)
- The Value of Life (New York, 1879)
- Cold Pack and Anæmia (1880)
- The Prophylaxis of Insanity (1881)
- "Studies in Endometritis" in the American Journal of Obstetrics (1885)
- Articles on "Infantile Paralysis" and "Pseudo-Muscular Hypertrophy" in Pepper's Archives of Medicine (1888)
- Hysteria, and other Essays (1888)
- Physiological Notes on Primary Education and the Study of Language (1889)
- "Common Sense" Applied to Woman Suffrage (1894) This expanded on an address she made that same year before a constitutional convention in Albany. It was reprinted in 1915 and contributed to the final successful push for women's suffrage.
- From Massachusetts to Turkey (1896)
Sources
External links
- Mary Putnam Jacobi Papers. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
- Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians - Dr. Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi. A project of the United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.