Born: 31 August 1842, United Kingdom
Died: 10 June 1906
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi, also known as Mary Putnam, was born in London in 1842. Her father, George Palmer Putnam, was American, while her mother, Victorine Haven Putnam, was from New York City. She was the eldest of eleven children. In 1848, when she was six, her family moved from London to New York City.
Mary Putnam Jacobi made history as the first woman admitted to the University of Paris for medical studies. She was also the first woman to graduate from a pharmacy college in the United States.
Jacobi had a diverse career in medicine, education, science, literature, and women’s suffrage. She advocated for women’s education in medicine and countered the belief that menstruation affected women’s learning ability. She co-founded the League for Political Education and the Women’s Medical Association of New York City. Her significant contributions were honored with her induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Mary Putnam Jacobi, an American physician, daughter of George P. Putnam the publisher. She was the first woman to graduate from the New York College of Pharmacy, in 1862. Later she spent some time in the Paris hospitals, and studied at the School of Medicine there. After her return to New York she began practice, and was lecturer at the new Women’s Medical College.
In 1873 she was married to the eminent physician, Abraham Jacobi. The following year she organized and became president of the association for the advancement of the medical education of women; and she was the first woman admitted to the New York medical societies and to the American Medical Association.
Her writing on medical subjects was considerable and important, and in 1876 the Boylston essay prize was awarded her by Harvard University.
IW note: She was also the first woman to study medicine at the University of Paris.