Alice Hamilton

Alice Hamilton was born February 27, 1869 in New York. She attended and graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1893. She did her medical internships in hospitals located in Minneapolis and Boston. After this, she began studying at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Alice also became active in the Hull House effort with Jane Adams. She also became more interested in social happenings during this time.

 In 1910, Hamilton was appointed to investigate occupational diseases by the governor of Illinois and was able to prove that lead was dangerous to the health of individuals. She continued to live in the Hull House for a little over twenty-two years, and helped fight for workmen’s compensation and other rights concerning women during her time there. She was even included in the group of women that was referred to as “hysterical pacifists” by Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1919, Alice Hamilton became the first woman to be appointed to the faculty at Harvard Medical School, and did studies on pollution for the government and United Nations during this period as well. Her efforts caused changes in the medical field and are appreciated by those women it has impacted/or will impact because of her work at the Hull House as well.

 Info from: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhamiltonA.htm