Quinn Black
This is a man’s world. 🎼
But it wouldn’t mean nothing without a woman. 🎵
There is always someone who is the first to do something in this world. The first man on the moon, the first person to make a phone call, or the first person to record a jazz album. Here are four female trailblazers who became the first women to break into their respective fields.
1. First female doctor in the U.S. – Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the United States to become a doctor. Blackwell received her doctorate from Geneva Medical College in 1849, at the age of 28. As the only female student, she had to work harder to prove herself while fighting against the sexist norms of the times.
She studied hard and after college went on to study in Paris and London where she, unfortunately, contracted a disease from a patient that resulted in her losing sight in her left eye. However, this did not stop her, as she went on to study at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London until 1850, when she then returned to the U.S.
Elizabeth Blackwell had an extremely successful medical career despite the hardships of being the first female doctor. In 1853, she established a medical dispensary for the poor, and by 1857, had expanded it into the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Blackwell also helped to establish the London School of Medicine for Women in 1875.
2. First woman to win a Nobel Prize – Marie Curie
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She won her first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for her study of radioactive materials, and in 1911 won a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering radium, a new element. Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1867.
In 1891 she moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where she studied Physics and Mathematical Sciences. That is also where she met her husband and future research partner, Pierre Curie. Curie went on to earn a Doctorate of Science in 1903, and after her husband’s tragic passing in 1906, she became the first female Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne. Curie’s work made enormous contributions to the world of science, without her who knows where we would be today. She wasn’t afraid to be a, if not the only, woman in a male-dominated industry.
3. First woman to run the Boston Marathon – Kathrine Switzer
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. Switzer was only 20 years old when she decided to run the marathon. She has stated that she wasn’t trying to make a statement by being the first woman to run it, she simply loved running and had known others who had run it and had fun.
Despite the fact that Switzer wasn’t attempting to make a statement by running the marathon, her mere presence in the race upset many people. She had a race official attempt to physically pull her off the course after the first two miles, only to be stopped by her then-boyfriend, who defended her. She also had journalists angrily yelling at her at the finish line “Real women don’t run!”. Due to the public outrage, she was unfortunately disqualified from the race and expelled from the Athletic Federation, which meant she was no longer allowed to run in any other marathons.
However, Switzer would not be stopped. She created her own athletics club and they ran in Canada, as to not violate her expulsion terms. Her club started putting on events and eventually went on to create 27 global races that had millions of female runners. Kathrine Switzer is now 66 years old and has run a total of 39 marathons!
4. First known female tattoo artist – Maud Wagner
Maud Wagner is the first known female tattoo artist in the U.S. She started her adult career as a circus performer with a traveling circus in 1911. That is where she met her husband, Gus Wagner, a well-known tattoo artist. Maud and Gus’s relationship started with a trade. A date in exchange for a tattoo lesson. After that Maud was hooked on tattooing, and on Gus.
She herself soon became an attraction at the circus. Most people had never seen anyone, let alone a woman, with so many tattoos. Her tattoos consisted of mostly patriotic symbols, animals, and nature. Maud had great success as a tattoo artist and passed on her skills to her daughter, Lovetta.
