Mary Harris Thompson, MD, (April 15, 1829May 21, 1895), was the founder, head physician and surgeon of the

Chicago Hospital for Women and Children Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, renamed Mary Thompson Hospital after its founder's death in 1895, was established in 1865 and provided medical care to indigent women and children as well as clinical training to women doctors. It was founde ...

, renamed Mary Harris Thompson Hospital after her death in 1895. She was one of the first women to practice medicine in Chicago.

Early life and education

Thompson was born in Fort Ann, Washington County, New York, April 15, 1829. She was the daughter of John Harris and Calista Corbin Thompson. She began her studies at a nearby school, then transferred to Fort Edward Institute, New York. She continued her studies at a Methodist school, Troy Conference Academy, located in West Poultney,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, and in 1860 enrolled in classes at the New England Female Medical College in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. During this time she spent one year in an internship at the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, which was founded by physicians Emily and Elizabeth Blackwell. She received her medical degree in 1863. In 1890, the

Chicago Medical College (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

granted a degree ''

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'' to Thompson.

Career

Upon graduating from the New England Female Medical College, Thompson moved to Chicago, a city which had been founded only 30 years prior and with little competition for a woman physician. She initially worked in the Northwestern Sanitary Commission's Chicago branch (a branch of the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

) for Dr. William G. Dyas and Miranda Dyas, serving

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veterans’ families in Chicago. During this phase of her career, Thompson was limited in her ability to care for patients; women were not yet permitted to be on any of Chicago's hospital staffs, and at least one area hospital did not admit women as patients. She then founded her own hospital, with the assistance of Rev. William R. Ryder, who raised funds for the project. In May, 1865, the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children opened, and Thompson became chief surgeon and physician, and head of staff – positions she kept the rest of her life. In 1870, Thompson founded Woman's Hospital Medical College. She became one of initial nine faculty members, and served in this role until 1879, when the college separated from the hospital. In 1874, she began directing a nursing school within the hospital. In 1892, she joined the faculty of the

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Woman's Medical School as a clinical professor of

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

. After 10 years of practice, Thompson was admitted to the Chicago Medical Society in 1873; she became the organization's vice president, and its first female officer, in 1886. She was a member of 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 ...

(AMA), and the AMA's first woman to present a paper to the Section on Diseases of Children, which earned her the role of Section Chair. She published and presented several papers on women's health and childhood diseases during her career. Thompson's private practice as an abdominal and pelvic surgeon was part of her hospital work, and for years she was the sole woman performing major surgery in Chicago. She also invented several surgical instruments and a special abdominal needle adopted by surgeons at the time.

Great Chicago Fire

In 1871, the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

burned down the buildings of the Woman's Hospital Medical College and the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children. Thompson and her staff ensured her patients were cared for, and soon after reopened for burned and sick patients, male and female, in a private home on Adams street. In 1873, the Relief Aid Society of Chicago donated $25,000 to reopen the hospital and treat patients, and Thompson used the money to open in a new location that same year.

Death

Thompson died in 1895 at age sixty-six, suffering a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. Shortly after her death, the board of the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children renamed the hospital the Mary Thompson Hospital of Chicago for Women and Children. The hospital closed in 1988. In 1905, the hospital board gave the Art Institute of Chicago a bust of Thompson that they commissioned from sculptor Daniel Chester French. Dr. Thompson is buried in Fort Ann Cemetery in

Fort Ann, New York Fort Ann is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 6,417 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village, also called Fort Ann, located in its ...

together with four of her siblings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Mary Harris 1829 births 1895 deaths People from Fort Ann, New York American surgeons Women surgeons American founders 19th-century American physicians 19th-century American women physicians