WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – A 2021 TRIBUTE
HELLO everyone and WELCOME to March and another FACTUAL FRIDAY. This month just happens to be WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, and accordingly I’ll be spending a lot of time over the next four weeks blogging and posting about the amazing women who have helped shape the field of health and wellness in America.
We begin this week with a tribute to Barbara McClintock, Clara Barton, and Matilda Evans, all of whom are HEROINES OF HEALTH, remembered for their stunning contributions to medicine, science and healthcare.
BARBARA McCLINTOCK
Born in 1902, Barbara McClintock was an American scientist and cytogeneticist. She received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927 and became the leader in the development of “maize cytogenetics.”
She developed the technique for visualizing “maize chromosomes” and the ways in which these chromosomes changed during reproduction.
Her microscopic analysis became the foundation for numerous genetic theories and ideas – one of which was the notion of genetic recombination – targeting the cross-over process of genetic material during meiosis. In other words, Barbara discovered the mechanism by which chromosomes exchange genetic information.
Barbara mapped the first genetic maize, which linked regions of each chromosome to physical characteristics. She also demonstrated the role of the telomere and centromere regions of a chromosome that are so important to the sharing of genetic information – a process that became known as “genetic transposition.”
Barbara received numerous awards and fellowships throughout her career. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1944 and in 1983 became the first American woman to win an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. At the time of her death in 1992, she was recognized as one of the most distinguished figures in science and medicine.
CLARA BARTON
Born on Christmas Day in 1821, Clara Barton spent most of her life in service to others. She became a teacher at the age of 15 and opened a Free Public School in New Jersey and later worked in the U.S. Patent Office as a clerk until the mid-1850s and the start of the Civil War.
This war changed the lives of every American and it was during this time Clara vouched to serve the needs of soldiers in any way she could. She collected and distributed supplies for the Union Army and served as an independent nurse – becoming known as “the Angel of the Battlefield.”
When the war ended in 1865, Clara worked for the War Department helping to reunite soldiers with families and locate the missing. She also worked with a relief organization in Europe known as the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and committed herself to starting an American Branch of this organization.
To that end, Clara founded the American Red Cross in 1881 and served as its first president. Never taking a salary for her work, she used her funds to support a variety of relief efforts. She continued in her work in service until her death in 1912.
Today, the American Red Cross continues its humanitarian service to provide emergency assistance, disaster relief and educational programs for people in need throughout the United States.
MATILDA EVANS
Born in 1872 in Aiken, South Carolina, Matilda Evans spent most of her early years working the rural fields of the South with her family. It was not until her chance meeting with Martha Shoefield, a well-known Quaker woman in the Caucasian community, that Matilda decided to seek an education.
Martha helped raised the money to send Matilda to Ohio to attend Oberlin College and then to the Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia in 1893, where Matilda became the first African American woman to receive a license and practice medicine in the state of South Carolina.
Matilda dedicated her work to improving the lives of rural women and children specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics and hygiene. After years of caring for patients in her home, she established Taylor Lane Hospital in 1901, which was the first black-owned hospital in Columbia, South Carolina.
Her practice crossed all racial barriers of the time, with Matilda using the funds she received from wealthy white patients to provide free and subsidized care for her needy black patients. Believing healthcare should be a right of citizenship, Matilda petitioned the state of South Carolina to provide free vaccines for all underprivileged children.
Matilda began the Negro Health Association of South Carolina in 1918, volunteered in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War I and was the only African American woman in the country to serve as the President of a State Medical Association.
In closing, I thank these courageous women who helped pave the way for other women following in their footsteps and for inspiring future generations to come.
And, I thank all of you for joining me once again. Until next time, please stay safe, stay in GOOD HEALTH and . . .
TAKE THE COURSE AND TAKE CHARGE!
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