The Doctor They Admitted as a Joke - January 23, 1849

On January 23, 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. She had been rejected by twenty-nine schools. The one that accepted her did so as a joke the students voted yes because they thought it was a prank. She graduated first in her class, lost an eye to her profession, and opened doors that would never close again.