When Ann Preston needed to raise money to open a hospital for women, she went door to door, riding on a borrowed horse and buggy. She raised the funds and the Women’s Hospital of Philadelphia opened in 1862.
This was Ann, determined to achieve her goals. She began working life as teacher and author of stories for children before transitioning to a career in medicine. The transition was challenging. Rejected at first from every medical school to which she applied because of her gender, she gained admission to the first class of students at the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania and at the age of 38 she graduated in 1851.
She would go on to practice medicine, teach physiology and hygiene, become a dean of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, lead the opening of a school of nursing, and lead the opening of the Women’s Hospital.
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“A snapshot biography of Ann Preston” sources: Portrait of Ann taken circa 1867 – Wikimedia Commons / Ann Preston Wikipedia
