Anna Lukens (October 29, 1844 – June 27, 1917) was an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

who practiced medicine, had leadership roles in hospitals and taught medicine. She was a vice-president of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Committee for the Prevention and State Regulation of Vice.

Early life and education

Lukens was born in Philadelphia on October 29, 1844. Between 1855 and 1870, her family were residents of

Plymouth, Pennsylvania Plymouth is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, located west of Wilkes-Barre, along the Susquehanna River. The population was 5,763 as of the 2020 census. History Plymouth was first settled in 1769 by the Susquehanna C ...

, and belonged to the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. She was educated in Philadelphia at the Friends' Seminary. Lukens studied at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania under Dr. Hiram Corson beginning in 1867 and graduated from the school on March 13, 1870. While attending clinics in the

Pennsylvania Hospital Pennsylvania Hospital is a Private hospital, private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located at 800 Spruce Street (Philadelphia), Spruce Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia, The hospital was founded on May 11, 17 ...

in November 1869, the first time women students attended the hospital, she and Anna Broomall led a line of women students out of the hospital grounds amid hisses, jeers, insults, and thrown stones and mud from male students.

Career

In 1870, Lukens entered the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia as an intern. In May of that year, she became the first female member of one of the medical societies in the states when she became an elected member of the Montgomery County Medical Society. The following year, she began to teach at the college as an instructor in the chair of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

. In 1872, Lukens taught

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

in the college by lectures and practical demonstrations in the

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

of the Women's Hospital. She was the first woman to apply for admission to the

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, but discouraged by the reception there, she studied analytical chemistry in the laboratory of Dr. Walls at the College of Pharmacy in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Lukens became an

attending physician In the United States and Canada, an attending physician (also known as a staff physician or supervising physician) is a physician (usually an M.D., or D.O. in the United States) who has completed residency and practices medicine in a clinic ...

of the Western Dispensary for Women and Children in 1873, and in some instances paid the rent for this dispensary using her personal money. The same year, she was elected a member of the New York County Medical Society. In 1877, Lukens was appointed assistant physician in the Nursery and Child's Hospital of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, assuming responsibility of the pharmaceutical department. She became appointed resident physician of the hospital in 1880. Two papers which Lukens read before the Staten Island Clinical Society were published in the ''New York Journal,'' copied in the ''London Lancet'' and received favorable notice by the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

''. In 1884, she went abroad to study children's diseases in the principal hospitals of Europe. She later opened an office for private practice in the city of New York and was then elected consulting physician of the Nursery and Child's Hospital of Staten Island, and a fellow of the New York State Medical Society. She was appointed in 1876, one of the vice-presidents of the New York Committee for the Prevention and State Regulation of Vice. Lukens was a member of the Sorosis Club and was considered a woman of marked executive ability for hospital administration. In ''The Part Taken by Women in American History'' (1912), it was said that "Her work is of a high standard and she occupied a conspicuous position for a woman in the profession which she has chosen." Aside from articles that Lukens wrote for the '' New York Medical Journal'', she wrote the book ''The History of Nursery and Child's Hospital, New York'', which was published in 1893.

Personal life

Lukens had a farm in Pennsylvania, an apartment in New York, and a winter home called "Sequoia Lodge by the Sea" in

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city had a population of 15,090 at the 2020 census. Pacific Grove is a popular tourist destination on ...

, which was built in 1906 by Emily Williams. She shared her homes with her companion, Mary Conrad. Lukens died on June 16, 1917, and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

in Philadelphia.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukens, Anna 1844 births 1917 deaths 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians American feminists American women non-fiction writers American women's rights activists Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) History of women's rights in the United States Pharmacists from Philadelphia 20th-century American pharmacists 19th-century American pharmacists Physicians from Philadelphia Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni People from Pacific Grove, California