Mary Elizabeth Bennett Ritter (June 7, 1860 – March 17, 1949) was an American physician and an advocate for women's rights and public health issues in
Berkeley, California. She was known as a pioneer in her time because women were largely excluded from medical training and employment. Despite restricted access, Ritter built a successful private practice. She also advocated for women in medical professions, training for nurses, and sanitation standards in hospitals and doctor's offices. She helped start the
Pacific Dispensary for Women and Children
Pacific Dispensary for Women and Children (later, Children's Hospital; later, The Hospital for Children and Training School for Nurses) was a women's and children's hospital in San Francisco, California, US, founded in 1875, renamed Children' ...
, free clinics for poor women and children. In 1933, she published her autobiography, ''More Than Gold in California''.
Biography
Ritter was born Mary Elizabeth Bennett in
Salinas, California
Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...
. She was the daughter of farmers, William Bennett and Abigail Noble Bennett, who did not support her ambition to become a doctor.
Before entering medical school, Ritter earned an independent income, which she saved to pay for educational expenses. In 1886, she earned her medical degree from Cooper Medical College in San Francisco, which is now
Stanford School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. This ...
.
Bennett remained in the
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
and built a successful personal practice for 20 years. She treated both rich and poor on a sliding scale and was known to provide free services for those most in need. In addition to her medical practice, Ritter was also an advocate. In 1891, she worked with women medical students of the
University of California (UC) in Berkeley, with funding from
Phoebe Hearst, the only woman on the UC Board of Regents, in order to build a gymnasium for women students.
She also advocated for better housing for women students. In 1935, UC Berkeley awarded Ritter an honorary Ph.D. for her work as an unofficial first dean of women.
She married zoologist
William Emerson Ritter on June 23, 1891.
In 1909, Mary Ritter retired from her medical practice and moved to
La Jolla, California
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
, where her husband was employed. In La Jolla, She continued her advocacy work and gave many lectures about public health issues as well as woman and infant care.
Ritter wrote an autobiography called ''More than Gold in California'', detailing her work as a physician, her work as a women's advocate, and her role as a partner in her husband's biological projects.
Ritter died in
Mountain View, California.
Works
* ''More than Gold in California''. Berkeley: Professional Press, 1933.
* ''Medical Student and Intern,'' in: ''Recollections of Cooper Medical College'' (1883-1905), by Mary B. Ritter, George Blumer, Louis F. Alvarez, and Walter C. Alvarez. Palo Alto: Stanford Medical School, 1964.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritter, Mary Elizabeth Bennett
1860 births
1949 deaths
People from Salinas, California
American primary care physicians
American women physicians
Physicians from California