Anna Lukens facts for kids
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Anna Lukens (born October 29, 1844 – died June 27, 1917) was an important American doctor in the 1800s. She worked in hospitals, taught medicine, and held leadership roles. She was also a vice-president of a group in New York that worked to improve society.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Anna Lukens was born in Philadelphia on October 29, 1844. Her family lived in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, between 1855 and 1870. They were part of the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. Anna went to school in Philadelphia at the Friends' Seminary.
She began studying medicine in 1867 at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. She learned from Dr. Hiram Corson and graduated on March 13, 1870. While attending clinics at the Pennsylvania Hospital in November 1869, Anna and other women students faced challenges. It was the first time women students were allowed there. They bravely left the hospital grounds even when some male students were unkind to them.
Anna Lukens' Medical Career
Becoming a Doctor and Teacher
In 1870, Dr. Lukens started working as an intern at the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia. In May of that year, she made history. She became the first woman to join a medical society in the United States. This was the Montgomery County Medical Society. The next year, she began teaching at her old college. She taught physiology to new medical students.
In 1872, she taught pharmacy at the college. She gave lectures and showed students how things worked in the Women's Hospital dispensary. Dr. Lukens was the first woman to apply to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. However, she was not welcomed there. So, she went to New York City to study chemistry at the College of Pharmacy with Dr. Walls.
Helping Patients and Hospitals
In 1873, she became a doctor at the Western Dispensary for Women and Children. A dispensary is like a clinic where people can get medical help. Sometimes, she even paid the rent for this clinic herself to keep it open. In the same year, she was chosen to be a member of the New York County Medical Society.
In 1877, she started working at the Nursery and Child's Hospital of Staten Island. She helped with the medicine department there. By 1880, she became the main doctor living at the hospital.
Dr. Lukens wrote two important papers that were published. They appeared in the New York Journal and were even copied in the London Lancet. The British Medical Journal also praised her work. In 1884, she traveled to Europe to study children's diseases. She visited many major hospitals there.
Later, she opened her own private doctor's office in New York City. She was also chosen as a consulting physician for the Nursery and Child's Hospital of Staten Island. She became a fellow of the New York State Medical Society. In 1876, she was appointed as a vice-president of the New York Committee for the Prevention and State Regulation of Vice. This group worked to improve society and help people live better lives.
Achievements and Writings
Anna Lukens was a member of the Sorosis Club, a women's club. People saw her as a very capable leader, especially in managing hospitals. A book from 1912, The Part Taken by Women in American History, said that her work was excellent. It also noted that she held a very important position for a woman in her chosen profession.
Besides writing articles for the New York Medical Journal, she also wrote a book. It was called The History of Nursery and Child's Hospital, New York, and it was published in 1893.
Personal Life
Anna Lukens owned a farm in Pennsylvania and an apartment in New York. She also had a winter home in Pacific Grove, California, called "Sequoia Lodge by the Sea." This house was built in 1906 by Emily Williams. She shared her homes with her friend, Mary Conrad.
Dr. Lukens passed away on June 24, 1939. She was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
