On Jan. 23, 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell met her goal of committing "heresy with intelligence" by becoming the first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree. After being turned down by numerous colleges, Blackwell was finally accepted by the Geneva Medical College in upstate New York when a maneuver by the dean backfired. The dean reportedly asked the class to decide whether or not she should be admitted, fully expecting a no. Instead, the entire class voted to accept her. Blackwell managed to complete her two-year training and graduated with the highest class grade average. After years of practice and study in the U.S. and abroad, she eventually established the New York Dispensary for Poor Women and Children.

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