Menu
The History of
Elizabeth Gooking Greenleaf became the first female pharmacist in the United States.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female physician in America. She graduated from New York’s Geneva Medical College.
Florence Nightingale completed her training and become the first nurse.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker became the first female surgeon. She earned her M.D. from Syracuse Medical College.
Dr. Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first female dentist. She started her own medical practice after being denied entrance to multiple schools.
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first African American female to become a Doctor of Medicine in the United States.
Dr. Ann Preston became the first female dean of a U.S. medical school. She was dean of Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.
Helen Magill became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. after graduating from Boston University.
Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first black professional nurse in the U.S. after graduating from the New England Hospital for Women and Children Training School for Nurses.
The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton. She was the founder and first president.
Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte became the first Native American female physician. She graduated from Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mary Engle Pennington became the first female lab chief of FDA. She was hired to implement the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act.
International Women’s Day was observed for the first time.
Dr. Margaret Chung became the first female Chinese American physician. She founded one of the first Western medical clinics in the 1920s.
Oveta Culp Hobby became the first secretary, and first female secretary, of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which later became the Department of Health and Human Services.
Dorothea Daniels became the first female hospital administrator after being appointed administrator of the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles.
Dr. Helen Brooke Taussig became the first female president of the American Heart Association.
Carolyne K. Davis became the first female director of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Dr. Antonia Novello became the first female, and first Hispanic, Surgeon General of the United States.
Dr. Bernatdine Healy became the first female director of National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Nancy Dickey became the first female president of the American Medical Association. She also led the AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.
Dr. Julie Gerberding became the first female CDC director.
Mary F. Sammons became the first female CEO of Rite Aid.
Dr. Margaret Hamburg became the first female commissioner of the FDA.
Susannah Fox became the first female Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Marcia K. McNutt became the first female president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The AAMC reports for the first time more women entered U.S. medical schools than men.
Emma Walmsley became the first female CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and the first woman to run a major pharmaceutical company.
Dr. Rachel Werner, Ph.D., became the first female director of The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
Karen Lynch became the first female CEO of CVS.
Kim A. Keck became the first female CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
By learning from every woman who paved the way before us, we can elevate more women to top leadership roles to ultimately build a more equitable and representative healthcare system.
For exclusive access to Her Story content and program updates, subscribe here.