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April 29, 2009
The American Civil War began in 1861 and was fought between the rebel secessionist Confederate States of America in the American South, and the rest of the United States of America, calling themselves the Union. The war ended in 1865 and resulted in over an estimated 850,000 deaths. The carnage of war was a clear cause for doctors and nurses to be utilized on and off the battlefield, and the American Civil War saw many women doctors and nurses take part in this medical effort. This blog post summarizes the story of several woman doctors and graduates of Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania who served in the civil war. These women, Dr. Orianna Moon-Andrews, Dr. Chloe Buckle, Anne Smith, and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, all have material stored in the Legacy Center Archives, and contributed their medical knowledge as nurses and physicians in the American Civil War.
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April 10, 2009
Dr. Rachel Bodley was a prolific chemist and botanist who served as Dean of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania from 1874 to 1888. This blog post concerns a letter discovered in her collection written by an anonymous patient suffering from nymphomania. “The Patient” as she was known, was under the care of neurologist Dr. Charles K. Mills at the Women’s Nervous Wards at Philadelphia Hospital. As the blog explains, The Patient began a correspondence with Dr. Bodley and requested that upon her death, her body be dedicated to helping find a cure for nymphomania. The blog post covers the unusual archival item, and poses the questions of what became of The Patient after the letter was sent.
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April 2, 2009
The first sporting club at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania was fencing, which was designated an official athletic club in 1898. However, basketball soon rose to the top as the sport of choice at the college. This blog post delves into some of the history of sports and athletic leisure enjoyed by students at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in the late 1800s and early 1900s, looking specifically at student publications and photographs
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