"If society will not admit of woman's free development, then society must be remodeled." - Elizabeth Blackwell


                                                               

(1821-1910 ) Elizabeth Blackwell was accepted to Geneva Medical College of New York in 1848.  Her story seems to be one of chance.  The story goes that Geneva Medical College did not want to risk rejecting a female applicant so they polled the medical students on what they should do. Under the impression that a rival school had submitted the application, the students voted to admit the candidate.  Elizabeth Blackwell eventually became the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. Dr. Blackwell later worked with Florence Nightingale to provide training for nurses in the Civil War, and they helped establish the United States Sanitary Commission in 1861, which aimed to improve conditions in military hospitals.  Dr. Blackwell also founded the Women's Medical College in New York City.  In 1899, Cornell University Medical School began to admit women, and in turn, the Women's Medical College closed.

Source: NIH