Rachel Jane "Jennie" Nicol (1845–1881) was a founder of

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...

and a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. In 1867, she cofounded I.C. Sorosis at

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a ...

in Illinois, the first secret collegiate society for women patterned after men's

fraternities A fraternity (from Latin '' frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity ...

, which later adopted the Greek name

(ΠΒΦ). Pi Beta Phi is now an international organization with over 300,000 members. At a time when there were only a few hundred women physicians in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

she received her

M.D. degree Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degre ...

in 1879.

Early life

She was the second child, and the only daughter, among four children born to a Presbyterian farming couple from Ohio who emigrated to Edgington, Illinois (where she was born) and later moved to the village of Little York, Illinois. Her father died in 1861. Her older brother, Drennan, drowned in the Mississippi river and her youngest brother David died in Tennessee on August 20, 1864, in the American Civil War. Her brother William would survive into old age.

Education

First Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Building

In 1864 Nicol enrolled in the Scientific Program at Monmouth College (

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

) graduating in 1868. In her Junior year (third year) she cofounded the first women's fraternity I.C. Sorosis, later to become Pi Beta Phi. She was the first initiate of the new organization and was considered by the other founders to be a cofounder; she is listed as such in Pi Beta Phi history. She continued her education at

Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) was founded in 1850, and was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. The New England Female Medical College had been established ...

and graduated with an M.D. degree in 1879. She then interned for a year at

New England Hospital for Women and Children The New England Hospital for Women and Children was founded by Marie Zakrzewska on July 1, 1862. The Hospitals goal was to provide patients with competent female physicians, educate women in the study of medicine and train nurses to care for the ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Career and Death

In 1880, she sailed to Switzerland via Holland and Germany where she enrolled in the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 ...

, and "attended two lectures daily and the remainder of the time devoting to the clinics and the hospitals; am also having practice work in the pathological laboratory…" There she died an untimely death three months later from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion ...

following a bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

Burial

Her body was shipped (via rail and ship) to her family home in Little York where she was buried in the churchyard of Cedar Creek Presbyterian Church.

Memorial

In her honor, Pi Beta Phi, the sorority she helped found, built and supplied the Jennie Nicol Memorial Health Center that operated in

Gatlinburg Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,944 at the 2010 Census and a U.S. Census population of 3,577 in 2020. It is a popular vacation resor ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

, from 1922 until 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Rachel 1845 births 1881 deaths Monmouth College alumni American women physicians Pi Beta Phi American Presbyterians