Cornelia Bernhardine Johanna Schorer (12 July 1863, in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

– 9 January 1939, in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

) was a German physician. As one of the first women in Germany to study medicine, she became the first female doctor in Lübeck. Most of her professional life was spent as a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

in the United States.

Biography

She was born to the pharmacist and politician, , and had five siblings. Her younger sister, Maria, became an

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter, under the name

Maria Slavona Maria Slavona, born Marie Dorette Caroline Schorer (14 March 1865, Lübeck - 10 May 1931, Berlin) was a German impressionist painter. Life Her father, , was a pharmacist and politician who was known for his campaign to improve the quality ...

. She was the oldest daughter. She spent two years at the , when it was the only school in Lübeck that offered professional training to women. She passed her examination in 1882. She stayed in Lübeck, teaching French and German at the ], where she was officially a "scientific assistant". In 1889, she went to Berlin to attend a private school for women, operated by the feminist,

Helene Lange Helene Lange (9 April 1848 in Oldenburg – 13 May 1930 in Berlin) was a pedagogue and feminist. She is a symbolic figure of the international and German civil rights feminist movement. In the years from 1919 to 1921 she was a member of the Hamb ...

. From 1891 to 1892, she began studying philosophy at the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

, then switched to medicine. She received her doctorate in 1897, with a dissertation; "Clinical Reports on

Chlorosis In botany, chlorosis is a condition in which leaves produce insufficient chlorophyll. As chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of leaves, chlorotic leaves are pale, yellow, or yellow-white. The affected plant has little or no ability to ...

".Stadt Lübeck
Examination Boards, pg.16 After that, she worked as a doctor in the

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

clinic at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In 1899, she emigrated to the United States, settled in Massachusetts, and was certified as a doctor. From 1901 to 1908, when an illness prevented her from performing her usual work, she became a psychiatrist at

Worcester State Hospital Worcester State Hospital was a Massachusetts state mental hospital located in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is credited to the architectural firm of Weston & Rand. The hospital and surrounding associated historic structures are listed as Worcester ...

. After a year's stay in Germany for an operation and recovery, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, she returned to Worcester and worked there until 1914. She then transferred to

Boston State Hospital Boston State Hospital is a historic mental hospital located in Mattapan and Dorchester, Massachusetts. The court case ''Rogers v. Okin'', which increases patient consent rights, was filed by a class action A class action, also known as a class-ac ...

, where she was involved in a study of mentally ill women who had run afoul of the law. In 1920, she transferred again, to

Foxborough State Hospital Foxborough State Hospital, historically known as the Massachusetts Hospital for Dipsomaniacs and Inebriates, is a historic medical treatment facility at the junction of Chestnut and Main Streets in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The creation of an a ...

, becoming a Senior

Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

. In 1933, she retired and returned to Germany. She also travelled extensively, and came back to the United States for a short visit in 1935. The city of Lübeck has named a street after her in the new (University District). In 2005, her life's work was celebrated as part of an exhibition, "Women in the History of Lübeck".

Biography

References

Further reading