[originaltext] Elizabeth Blackwell, born in 1821 in Bristol, England, was th

Elizabeth Blackwell, born in 1821 in Bristol, England, was the first woman awarded the M.D. degree. Many nineteenth-century physicians, including a few women, practiced without a degree, but Elizabeth Blackwell wished to attain full professional status. She applied to many medical schools. Sadly, all her applications were turned down, because at that time, only men were doctors. When she was finally accepted, the students and professors were cruel to her[17]because she was the only woman at the school. Working with quiet determination, she turned aside the hostility of the professors, students, and townspeople. She earned her medical degree in 1849, but faced additional difficulties in setting up her practice. Barred from city hospitals, she founded her own infirmary. Eventually she founded a Women’s Medical College to train other women physicians. Blackwell’s educational standards were higher than the all-male medical schools. And she started the program of disease prevention in her schools. It was the first time the idea of preventing disease was taught at a medical college. Elizabeth helped do many things, such as establishing British National Health Society in 1871. Dr. Elizabeth died at her home in Hastings, England, in 1910, at the age of 89. She is remembered for her contributions to the cause of medicine and for showing the way for women to move on.
16. What made Elizabeth Blackwell distinguished from physicians of her time?
17. Why were Elizabeth’s professors and fellow students hostile to her?
18. What did Elizabeth contribute to the cause of medicine?