Elizabeth Blackwell was a pioneering figure in the field of medicine. Born in 1821 in Bristol, England, she became the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, graduating from Geneva Medical College in 1849. Blackwell faced numerous obstacles and discrimination in her pursuit of a medical career, but her determination and perseverance paved the way for future generations of women in medicine. She co-founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children in 1857, providing medical care and opportunities for female physicians. Blackwell’s legacy extends beyond her individual achievements; she inspired countless women to pursue careers in medicine and challenged societal norms regarding gender roles in the medical profession. She remains an enduring symbol of courage, resilience, and progress in the advancement of women’s rights in healthcare.

Elizabeth Blackwell Quotes

1. “It is not easy to be a pioneer – but oh, it is fascinating!”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

2. “None of us can know what we are capable of until we are tested.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

3. “Health has its science, as well as disease.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

4. “Our school education ignores, in a thousand ways, the rules of healthy development.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

5. “If society will not admit of woman’s free development, then society must be remodeled.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

6. “It is not easy to be a pioneer but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment, for all the riches in the world.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

7. “For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

8. “I must have something to engross my thoughts, some object in life which will fill this vacuum, and prevent this sad wearing away of the heart.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

9. “A blank wall of social and professional antagonism faces the woman.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

10. “The idea of winning a doctor’s degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle, and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

11. “Methods and conclusions formed by half the race only, must necessarily require revision as the other half of humanity rises into conscious responsibility.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

12. “A blank wall of social and professional antagonism faces the woman physician that forms a situation of singular and painful loneliness, leaving her without support, respect or professional counsel.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

13. “When life follows the course of our desires, it is easy to be swept along without thought.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

14. “I, who so love a hermit life for a good part of the day, find myself living in public, and almost losing my identity.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

15. “Prejudice is more violent the blinder it is…”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

16. “I felt more than ever the necessity of my mission. But I went home out of spirits, I hardly know why. I must work by myself all life long.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell

17. “I am not the sort of person about whom stories are told. Those of humble birth suffer their heartbreaks and celebrate their triumphs unnoticed by the bards, leaving no trave in the fables of their time.”
— Elizabeth Blackwell