Nettie Florence Keller (née Armstrong; 18 March 1875 – 15 January 1974) was an American doctor, social reformer,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, prohibitionist and early

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

. Keller was a member of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

. She was born in Carthage, Missouri, United States.

Biography

Nettie Florence Armstrong was born in Carthage, Missouri, on March 18, 1875. Her family later moved to Arkansas, before settling in Washington, where she studied at

Walla Walla College Walla Walla University is a Private university, private Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist university in College Place, Washington. The university has five campuses throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was founded in 1892 and is affiliat ...

, which her father helped construct. She later studied medicine at the

American Medical Missionary College American Medical Missionary College was a private Seventh-day Adventist college in Battle Creek, Michigan. It grew out of classes offered at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. It existed from 1895 until 1910, with preclinical instruction in Battle Cree ...

in Battle Creek, Michigan, where she met Māui Pōmare and her future husband Peter Martin Keller. Peter Keller went to Australia to work on behalf of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Florence graduated in 1900 and later joined Peter, becoming the first Seventh Day Adventist female doctor to be sent overseas. The couple married in Christchurch, New Zealand on 13 August 1901. When Seventh Day Adventist medical institutions in Australia became overstaffed, the General Conference asked the Kellers to make room for the older doctors by entering private practice. The Kellers worked as locums in various parts of Australia, then moved to Huntly, New Zealand, in 1903. In 1906 the couple returned to Washington, to ensure American citizenship for their daughter Frances; their only child. Later they set up in private practice in Auckland. While in New Zealand Florence Keller became an outspoken campaigner for many health-related issues including the temperance movement, the rational dress movement, improvements to prevention and treatment of tuberculosis and support of sunbathing as a healthy activity. She was invited to join the faculty at the University of Auckland and taught hygiene and health principles. Keller was also appointed to the Board of Governors of Auckland General Hospital, a position she held from 1913–1921. In 1913 she was elected as a member of the Auckland Hospital Board as an independent candidate. She was re-elected for three further terms on the Labour Party ticket where she "topped the poll", receiving more votes than any other candidate. Keller was instrumental in arranging an honorarium to be paid to Constance Frost, the bacteriologist at Auckland Hospital. The Kellers returned to the United States permanently in late 1919 after about twenty years in New Zealand and worked at the College of Medical Evangelists in Los Angeles. Dr. Peter and Dr. Florence began the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, respectively. In 1923, Dr. Peter Keller took over a post at the Glendale Sanitarium which he held until 1931, when he was fatally shot by an insane patient. Dr. Florence Keller remained at the College of Medical Evangelists and became emeritus professor of gynecology there in 1941. She died soon before her 99th birthday, on January 15, 1974, in Los Angeles.

Surgery

A fellow of the International and American College of Surgeons, Keller was known mainly as a surgeon in the later part of her life. One notable operation quite early in her career, in 1919, was an appendectomy performed on board a ship at sea in the Pacific. The engineer's mess room was used as an operating theatre and surgical instruments were sterilised in the ship's galley. Keller was still doing surgery and seeing patients six days a week until she was 92.

Veganism

Keller was an early vegan who argued against vegetarians consuming dairy and egg products.Amey, Catherine. (2014). ''The Compassionate Contrarians: A History of Vegetarians in Aotearoa New Zealand''. Rebel Press. p. 40. She commented that "I don't allow that anybody who touches animal products at all, even eggs, butter and milk, can claim to be a vegetarian."

References

External links

A chat with Dr Keller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Nettie Florence 1875 births 1974 deaths American emigrants to New Zealand American Seventh-day Adventists American veganism activists Members of district health boards in New Zealand New Zealand activists New Zealand Labour Party politicians New Zealand Seventh-day Adventists New Zealand women activists New Zealand women medical doctors People from Carthage, Missouri Seventh-day Adventists in health science Medical missionaries