Marie Thomas facts for kids

Marie Thomas (born February 17, 1896 – died October 10, 1966) was a very important person in Indonesian history. She was the first ever Indonesian woman to become a doctor! She finished her medical studies in 1922 at a special school called STOVIA. Marie Thomas became an expert in helping women with pregnancy and childbirth. She was also the first Indonesian doctor to specialize in this area. Later, she even started a school to train midwives in Bukittinggi.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Marie Thomas was born on February 17, 1896. Her birthplace was Likupang, which is in the Minahasa region of North Sulawesi. Her parents were Adriaan Thomas and Nicolina Maramis. Marie's father worked in the military. Because of his job, her family moved around a lot within Indonesia. This meant Marie got to go to many different schools. She studied in places from Sulawesi all the way to Java.

Becoming a Doctor

At first, the STOVIA medical school did not accept women students. But this rule changed thanks to the efforts of Aletta Jacobs. She was the first female doctor in the Netherlands. When Aletta Jacobs visited Indonesia in 1911, she spoke to the Governor-General. She strongly pushed for women to be allowed into STOVIA.

Even after women could enroll, there was another challenge. They could not be hired by the government's medical service. This meant they had to pay for their own studies at STOVIA. Aletta's sister, Charlotte Jacobs, helped solve this problem. Charlotte was the first woman to get a degree in pharmacy in the Netherlands. She helped create a special foundation to raise money for female students at STOVIA.

This foundation was started on September 1, 1912. It was called the Society to Form a Study Fund for Training Female Native Doctors (SOVIA). Marie Thomas joined STOVIA in September 1912. She was supported by the SOVIA foundation. When Marie started, she was the only female student among about 200 male students. It took two more years for another female student to join. Her name was Anna Warouw, and she was also from Minahasa.

Medical Career

Marie Thomas finished her studies at STOVIA in 1922. She was celebrated as the first female graduate from the school. She began her medical work at the main hospital in Batavia (now Jakarta). This hospital was called Centrale Burgerlijke Ziekeninrichting (CBZ). Today, it is known as Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

After Batavia, she worked in Medan and Manado. She then returned to Batavia to work at Budi Kemuliaan Hospital. This hospital was actually started by the SOVIA foundation. At one point, Marie Thomas worked as an assistant to Nicolaas Boerma. He was a Dutch doctor who specialized in helping women with childbirth.

Later Life and Legacy

On March 16, 1929, Marie Thomas married Mohammad Joesoef. He was also a doctor. They moved to Padang in West Sumatra, which was Mohammad's hometown. There, Marie worked for the Public Health Service. After a few years, they moved back to Batavia.

Eventually, Marie and her husband settled in Fort de Kock (now Bukittinggi) in West Sumatra. In 1950, Marie Thomas founded a midwifery school in Bukittinggi. This was a very important achievement. It was the first midwifery school in Sumatra and only the second in all of Indonesia. This school helped train many women to become midwives.

Marie Thomas passed away on October 10, 1966. She died from a brain hemorrhage.

Tributes

On February 17, 2021, Google honored Marie Thomas on her 125th birthday. They featured her with a special Google Doodle.