Marie Elizabeth Zakrzewska facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marie Elisabeth Zakrzewska
|
|
|---|---|
Portrait of Maria E. Zakrzewska, ca. 1845–1855.
|
|
| Born | 6 September 1829 |
| Died | 12 May 1902 (aged 72) |
| Alma mater | Western Reserve |
| Occupation | Physician |
Marie Elisabeth Zakrzewska (born September 6, 1829 – died May 12, 1902) was a doctor from Poland and America. She became famous as a brave female doctor in the United States. Born in Berlin, she became very interested in medicine. This happened after she helped her mother, who was a midwife.
Marie Zakrzewska is best known for starting the New England Hospital for Women and Children. This hospital helped many women who wanted to work in medicine. It gave them chances to learn by doing. She also created the first general training school for nurses in America at this hospital. Her hard work made it easier for women to become doctors. She also started the first sand gardens for children in America.
Contents
Early Life and Medical Dreams
Marie Elizabeth Zakrzewska was born on September 6, 1829, in Berlin, Germany. Her parents, Ludwig Martin Zakrzewski and Caroline Fredericke Wilhelmina Urban, had moved there. They had lost much of their land in Poland. Marie was the oldest of six children.
Marie was a very smart student and did well in school. Her teachers were proud of her success. But her father did not want her to continue school past age thirteen. So, Marie Zakrzewska left school when she was thirteen years old.
Later, Marie's father lost his job. This made their family poor. Marie's mother then became a midwife. Marie often went with her mother to visit patients. She learned many new things and wrote about them in her diary. She read every medical book she could find. Marie became very interested in nursing and decided she wanted to be a midwife.
When she was nineteen, Marie applied to the government midwifery school. This was the Royal Charité Hospital in Berlin. She applied again at age twenty, but was turned down both times. Dr. Joseph Schmidt, a professor there, was impressed by her determination. He had also seen her work with her mother. After several tries, Dr. Schmidt helped Marie get into the school. She was the youngest student there.
Marie worked very hard and did better than her classmates. She graduated in 1851. Dr. Schmidt was so impressed that he tried to make her a chief midwife. This job had the rank of a professor. No woman had ever held this position before. Many people argued against it. They thought she would fall in love and stop her career. But Marie was appointed at age twenty-two. She was in charge of over two hundred students, including men.
Sadly, Dr. Schmidt died just hours after she started the job. Without his support, protests began. Marie had to leave the position after only six months.
Moving to America for Medicine
After leaving her job in Berlin, Marie Zakrzewska decided to move to America. She went with her sister, Anna. Marie hoped to find more chances to practice medicine as a woman in America. In 1853, Marie and Anna arrived in New York.
Marie soon learned that female doctors faced many challenges in the United States. It was very hard for her to find a job helping a male doctor. It was even harder to start her own practice. The sisters' money was running out. To survive, they started sewing and selling embroidered materials. They earned about a dollar a day.
Even though her sewing business was doing well, Marie still wanted to practice medicine. A year after arriving, she visited the Home for the Friendless. This place helped immigrants. There, she met Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. Dr. Blackwell was the first woman in the U.S. to get a medical degree from a men's college. Marie was excited to meet another woman who loved medicine. Dr. Blackwell invited Marie to work at her medical office.
Dr. Blackwell helped Marie get into the Western Reserve University's medical program. This program was special because it accepted female students. Marie had to learn English well to attend. When she planned to move for school, she faced more problems. She was one of only four women among two hundred students. The men on campus were often rude to the women. They even tried to stop women from enrolling after the first term. Despite these difficulties, Marie earned her medical degree in March 1856. She was twenty-seven years old.
After getting her degree, she returned to New York. She hoped it would be easier to find a job as a doctor. But she quickly found it was still very hard for a woman. People often looked down on her for being a "lady doctor." Elizabeth Blackwell let Marie use the back room of her house as a doctor's office. This was the first time Marie had her own practice sign.
The many rejections and problems they faced gave Blackwell and Zakrzewska an idea. They decided to create their own hospital for women and children. They traveled together and held events to raise money. On May 1, 1857, the New York Infirmary for Women and Children opened. By 1859, the hospital was doing well. Marie's typical day started at 5:30 a.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m.
Marie then moved to Boston, looking for a new challenge. She loved the city. She was offered a job as a professor at the Boston Female Medical College. She would teach about childbirth and women's and children's diseases. She would also lead a new medical program. Marie found that people in Boston were more supportive of female doctors than in New York. However, the college founder, Samuel Gregory, wanted female doctors to be called "doctresses." Marie resigned from her position in 1861 because of this.
The New England Hospital for Women and Children
Marie Zakrzewska thought about all the problems she had faced. She decided she wanted to help other women who wanted to be doctors. She believed women needed a hospital where they could learn and practice medicine.
The New England Hospital for Women and Children opened on July 1, 1862. This hospital had three main goals:
- To give women medical care from female doctors.
- To give women a chance to practice medicine with real patients.
- To train nurses.
Marie wanted to show that women could run a hospital and practice medicine just as well as men.
The New England Hospital was not the only hospital for women and children in Boston. But it was special because it offered hands-on training for female doctors. Marie believed that studying books was not enough. Doctors needed to practice medicine in a real setting. Many women were not allowed to do this. The hospital was also the first in Boston to offer care for women's and childbirth issues. It was the first hospital in America to offer a general training school for nurses. They often gave free or low-cost care to poor people, supported by donations.
Over the years, her staff grew. It included important doctors like Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and Lucy E. Sewall.
Later Life and Legacy
Marie Zakrzewska wanted to join a professional medical group. For women doctors, being accepted by their male colleagues and society was very important. Joining a medical society would show that they were accepted. Her male doctor friends encouraged her to apply to the Massachusetts Medical Society. Marie applied, but even with their support, she was rejected. The reason was her gender.
Marie Zakrzewska, along with Emily Blackwell, Lucy Sewell, and others, tried to open medical schools to women. They sent a letter to Harvard University. They offered $50,000 to start a medical program for women. Harvard said no. But their efforts were not wasted. This offer was later accepted by Johns Hopkins University. It opened its doors to women the next year.
After many years of hard work, Marie Zakrzewska retired in 1890. She had spent her life practicing medicine and making medical education easier for women. She continued to help with projects and organize things. In 1899, the main building of her hospital was renamed the "Zakrzewska Building."
Marie Zakrzewska died on May 12, 1902, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. It was thought she had a heart attack. Her friends and colleagues gathered to honor her. They read farewell letters she had written for the occasion. Her home is now a site on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
Marie Zakrzewska lived a successful life. She broke down barriers for women in medicine in the United States. She founded hospitals for women. She also helped open the nursing profession to Black women. The first Black nurse in America graduated from her school in 1879. She was a supporter of women's rights and ending slavery. She became friends with important figures like William Lloyd Garrison.
Role in Early Playgrounds
Marie Elizabeth Zakrzewska also brought a new idea to America. She introduced the German idea of building sand gardens for children. She saw these gardens when she visited Berlin in 1885. She started the first sand gardens in Boston.
Images for kids
-
Painting of Maria E. Zakrzewska
See also
In Spanish: Marie Elizabeth Zakrzewska para niños
