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Aliee HamiltonPion eer in Indusl r ial M edicine
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Robert A. Kyle, M.D" and Marc A. Sha mpo , Ph.D,
Alice Ham ilton was born on Feb. 27. 1869. in Ncw York City; her family movcd 10 Fnn Wayne. Indiana, when she was 6 week s old. She reeeived her ear ly ed ucation at horne, but at the age of 17 years, she left Indiana to attend Miss Porter 's Schoo l in Farmi ngton, Co nnec ticut, where she stud ied Latin, Greek , Ge rman, and philosophy but had no train ing in thc natura l sciences. She returned to Indiana and attended the medieal schoo l in Fort Wayne for I year. Su bsequently, she was adm itted 10 the University of M ichi gan Med ical Schoo l (Ann Arbor), one of the few quality schoo ls thai acce pted female students. Hamilton received hc r M.D. degree in 1893 and was an intern at the Ncw England Hospital for Women and Children ncar Boston . She studied for a year in Ge rmany, where she was admitted 10 the lectures but not to the labora tories at the Univer sity of Leipz ig. She transferred to the University of Mun ich because the laboratories were ope n to her bUI found that the lectures were closed to women. For a short time, she attended the John s Hopk ins School o f Mcdicine (Baltimore, Maryland ), where she recei ved instruction from the noted Ameri can pathologist Dr. Simon Flexner (1863- 1946 ). In 1897, she obtained her first academic posilion , instructor of pathology al the Wom en ' s Medical School at Northwestern Universi ty in Ch icago (Illinois). An admirer of social workcr Janc Addam s ( 1860· 1935) , Hamilt on was accepted as a reside nt at Hull-Hou se and provided medical services [0 the ind igent s of the Chicago slums .
MUJo Clin Proc 1997:72:726
In 19 I0 , Hamilton determ ined that wristdro p in industrial workers resulted from lead po ison ing. She subseq uently investigated many lead plant s in Illinois and identified 304 eases of lead poisoni ng in I year. Later, she described phosphorus poisoning in the munitions industry, mercury
poisoning amo ng felt workers, ca rbon monoxid e poisonin g among stee l wo rkers. and silicosis in sandblasters.
Hamilton was the first woman to be appointed anassistant professor on the faculty of Harvard Universi ty (Cambridge, Massachu setts ). Her appo intme nt on Mar. 10, 19 19, was vigoro usly protested by members of the Harvard Club of Boston. Alth ough faculty mem bers we re allowed access to the club and squash cou rts, she agreed to relinquish both her right to use the Harvard C lub and her quota of footb all tickets. Incontrast to the discrimination of her colleagues. Hamilton was well respected by her students. A youn g physician who returned to Cornell Med ica l Sc hoo l after a 2-year fellowship at Harvard University was asked tn name the three most brillianl thinkers he had mel duri ng his Slay at Harvard. His respon se was neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), physiologist Walter Ca nnon ( 187 1-1945), and Alice Hamilton, In 1924, Hamilton was appo inted 10 the Health Organi zation o f the League of Nations. That same year, she was invited to Russia to conduct a personal survey of the country's activities in industrial hygiene. She was the first woman recipient of the Lasker Award , which she won in 1938. In 194 9, she was labe led a "communist sympathizer" by the House Committee on Un-Ame rican Activities beca use o f her 1924 visit to the Soviet Union. In 1963, at the age of93 years, she signed an open letter protest ing the co ntinuation of US military interventi on in Vietn am. She d ied on Sep . 22 , 1970 , in Hadl yme, Conn ecti cut (nea r New Lond on ), at the age of 101 years . She was honored on a stam p issued by the United Stat es o n J ul. II, 1995.
726
© / 997 Mayo Foundation/ or Medical Education and Research
For personal use. Mass reproduce only with permission from Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
,
,
Aliee HamiltonPion eer in Indusl r ial M edicine
: i , ,' -::=
·• -
• .:1
:
-;
.•. _-- _
1
~
..;
.
Robert A. Kyle, M.D" and Marc A. Sha mpo , Ph.D,
Alice Ham ilton was born on Feb. 27. 1869. in Ncw York City; her family movcd 10 Fnn Wayne. Indiana, when she was 6 week s old. She reeeived her ear ly ed ucation at horne, but at the age of 17 years, she left Indiana to attend Miss Porter 's Schoo l in Farmi ngton, Co nnec ticut, where she stud ied Latin, Greek , Ge rman, and philosophy but had no train ing in thc natura l sciences. She returned to Indiana and attended the medieal schoo l in Fort Wayne for I year. Su bsequently, she was adm itted 10 the University of M ichi gan Med ical Schoo l (Ann Arbor), one of the few quality schoo ls thai acce pted female students. Hamilton received hc r M.D. degree in 1893 and was an intern at the Ncw England Hospital for Women and Children ncar Boston . She studied for a year in Ge rmany, where she was admitted 10 the lectures but not to the labora tories at the Univer sity of Leipz ig. She transferred to the University of Mun ich because the laboratories were ope n to her bUI found that the lectures were closed to women. For a short time, she attended the John s Hopk ins School o f Mcdicine (Baltimore, Maryland ), where she recei ved instruction from the noted Ameri can pathologist Dr. Simon Flexner (1863- 1946 ). In 1897, she obtained her first academic posilion , instructor of pathology al the Wom en ' s Medical School at Northwestern Universi ty in Ch icago (Illinois). An admirer of social workcr Janc Addam s ( 1860· 1935) , Hamilt on was accepted as a reside nt at Hull-Hou se and provided medical services [0 the ind igent s of the Chicago slums .
MUJo Clin Proc 1997:72:726
In 19 I0 , Hamilton determ ined that wristdro p in industrial workers resulted from lead po ison ing. She subseq uently investigated many lead plant s in Illinois and identified 304 eases of lead poisoni ng in I year. Later, she described phosphorus poisoning in the munitions industry, mercury
poisoning amo ng felt workers, ca rbon monoxid e poisonin g among stee l wo rkers. and silicosis in sandblasters.
Hamilton was the first woman to be appointed anassistant professor on the faculty of Harvard Universi ty (Cambridge, Massachu setts ). Her appo intme nt on Mar. 10, 19 19, was vigoro usly protested by members of the Harvard Club of Boston. Alth ough faculty mem bers we re allowed access to the club and squash cou rts, she agreed to relinquish both her right to use the Harvard C lub and her quota of footb all tickets. Incontrast to the discrimination of her colleagues. Hamilton was well respected by her students. A youn g physician who returned to Cornell Med ica l Sc hoo l after a 2-year fellowship at Harvard University was asked tn name the three most brillianl thinkers he had mel duri ng his Slay at Harvard. His respon se was neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), physiologist Walter Ca nnon ( 187 1-1945), and Alice Hamilton, In 1924, Hamilton was appo inted 10 the Health Organi zation o f the League of Nations. That same year, she was invited to Russia to conduct a personal survey of the country's activities in industrial hygiene. She was the first woman recipient of the Lasker Award , which she won in 1938. In 194 9, she was labe led a "communist sympathizer" by the House Committee on Un-Ame rican Activities beca use o f her 1924 visit to the Soviet Union. In 1963, at the age of93 years, she signed an open letter protest ing the co ntinuation of US military interventi on in Vietn am. She d ied on Sep . 22 , 1970 , in Hadl yme, Conn ecti cut (nea r New Lond on ), at the age of 101 years . She was honored on a stam p issued by the United Stat es o n J ul. II, 1995.
726
© / 997 Mayo Foundation/ or Medical Education and Research
For personal use. Mass reproduce only with permission from Mayo Clinic Proceedings.