Mary Putnam Jacobi empowered and inspired nineteenth century women to become physicians by raising the level of medical education for women and overcoming public doubt about women’s capabilities to study and practice medicine.
Dr. Jacobi was dissatisfied with the quality of medical education available to women and so, after studying abroad, she established a large private practice in New York City and taught at the New York Infirmary for Women & Children and other hospitals.
Dr. Jacobi, a brilliant physician whose skills and training surpassed that of most male physicians, founded the Association for the Advancement of Medical Education of Women in 1872, serving as its president for several years. She was also an activist in the consumer and woman suffrage movement, inspiring female colleagues to excel in medicine and as citizens.
