The Woman's Medical College of St. Louis (sometimes St. Louis Woman's Medical College) was a
homeopathic medical college for women located in
St. Louis,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. It opened first opened in 1883 as a branch of the
Western Homeopathic Medical College, and then later reopened as a separate entity in 1891.
First college
The Woman's College of 1883 was opened to serve as a way for women to obtain
medical degrees in the state of Missouri. According to ''The History of American Homeopathy'', "the orthodox
medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...
al community resisted the admission of women students longer than did the homeopathic and
eclectic schools," meaning most women of the period who aspired to be doctors had to attend alternative institutions. The college "held only one course of lectures" before closing in 1884.
Second college
In 1891, a new Woman's College was incorporated by T. J. Beattie, J. Block, C.A. Dannaker, and R.S. Sloan. Now separate from the Western College, this new incarnation was the first
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
that existed solely for the education of women in medicine. The first classes were held in September 1892.
The opening of the college was met with opposition from the local medical community. The St. Louis-based ''Medical Mirror'' published an editorial saying that "
men are not endowed by nature or art with the qualities, nor can they gain the necessary equipment for making a successful
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
." Following the graduation of the first class in 1894, the ''Medical Mirror reported'' that the St. Louis Board of Health "found it inexpedient to admit women to the
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
s as
assistant physicians nterns... inasmuch as the admission of women would mark a change from the established order of things." According to Clevenger, only one graduate, Henrietta Borck, was ever admitted to the St. Louis Medical Society, nineteen years after her graduation.
Following a move to a new building, the Woman's College was affected by the
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...
and began to struggle financially. It closed permanently in 1896.
See also
*
References
*
Early Medical Education for Women in St. Louis"
Washington University School of Medicine. 2004. Accessed February 15, 2008.
* Clevenger, Martha R.
From Lay Practitioner to Doctor of Medicine: Woman Physicians in St. Louis, 1860-1920. ''Gateway Heritage''. 1987.
* Haller, John S.
The History of American Homeopathy: The Academic Years, 1820 - 1933'. 2005.
External links
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1884 disestablishments in the United States
Educational institutions disestablished in 1896
Defunct private universities and colleges in Missouri
Universities and colleges established in 1883
Educational institutions established in 1891
Homeopathic colleges
Universities and colleges in St. Louis
1891 establishments in Missouri
1896 disestablishments in the United States
History of women in Missouri