(Mary) Alice Bennett (January 31, 1851 – 1925) was a US physician and the first woman to obtain a Ph.D. from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In addition, Bennett was the first female superintendent in the women's section at the state hospital for the insane in

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...

, and the first woman president of the Montgomery Country Medical Society.

Early life and education

Bennett spent her first years in her hometown of

Wrentham, Massachusetts Wrentham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,178 at the 2020 census. History In 1660, five men from Dedham were sent to explore the lakes near George Indian's wigwam and to report back to the ...

with her parents, Lydia Hayden and Isaac Francis Bennett and her five older siblings. After her graduation, Bennett taught for four years in local school districts around Wrentham. In 1872, she attended the

Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) was founded in 1850, and was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. The New England Female Medical College had been established ...

in Philadelphia. Once obtaining her MD in 1876, Bennett worked in a dispensary in the Philadelphia slums. After leaving her work she was appointed as demonstrator of anatomy in the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. She continued her studies and in 1880 became the first woman to obtain a Ph.D. from the

. As she finished up her Ph.D.,

Hiram Corson Hiram Corson (November 6, 1828 – June 15, 1911) was an American professor of literature. Life Corson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He held a position in the library of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (1849-1856), was a l ...

assisted in her appointment to medical superintendent of the Department for Women at the Pennsylvania State Hospital for the Insane at Norristown.

Work and accomplishments

Alice Bennett was elected as the first female president of the Montgomery County Medical Society in Pennsylvania. During her lifetime she was a member of many societies including the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's state ...

, the Philadelphia Neurological Society and the Medical Jurisprudence Society, as well as one of the contributors to the Spring Garden Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. Bennett worked as the medical superintendent of the Department for Women at the Pennsylvania State Hospital for the Insane at Norristown from 1880 to 1896. During her time there, she became an advocate for the humane treatment of patients. She condemned the use of restraints on mental and insane patients, arguing that they were ineffective and resulted in anger. Bennett eliminated these practices in her own institution, resulting in other institutions doing the same. As a replacement, the innovative doctor introduced

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...

such as, handicrafts, music and art. Her research articles and papers on the nature and characteristics of mental illness won her professional recognition in her field. Bennett left the state hospital in 1896, moving back to her hometown of Wrentham and maintaining a private practice. In 1910 she discovered

Emily Blackwell Emily Blackwell (October 8, 1826 – September 7, 1910) was the second woman to earn a medical degree at what is now Case Western Reserve University, after Nancy Talbot Clark. In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. ...

New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is a nonprofit, acute care, teaching hospital in New York City and is the only hospital in Lower Manhattan south of Greenwich Village. It is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and one ...

. She volunteered at the infirmary as the head of the outpatient department of

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

for fifteen years.

Death

Bennett was never married. She died of

angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...

at the New York infirmary in 1925 and was buried in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Alice 1851 births 1925 deaths American psychiatrists American women physicians University of Pennsylvania alumni Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni American hospital administrators