Clara Marshall (May 8, 1847 – March 13, 1931) was an American physician, educator, and author. She was dean of the

Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania Founded in 1850, The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), formally known as The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, was the first American medical college dedicated to teaching women medicine and allowing them to earn the Doctor ...

from 1888 to 1917.

Early life and education

Clara Marshall was born in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

, the daughter of prominent

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

Mary and Pennock Marshall. She initially worked as a schoolteacher, and at age 24 she enrolled in the

. Her instructors included

Rachel Bodley Rachel Littler Bodley (December 7, 1831 – June 15, 1888) was an American professor, botanist, and university leader. She was best known for her term as Dean of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1874–1888). She helped found the Ameri ...

(chemistry), Ann Preston (physiology), Emeline Horton Cleveland (obstetrics), and Mary Scarlett-Dixon (anatomy). She graduated with a degree in medicine in 1875, and due to her exceptional skill was immediately made a demonstrator of ''

materia medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

'' and therapeutics. Some members of the college board disputed Marshall's appointment due to her lack of experience, but she was able to overcome their objections. To further her knowledge of the subject, she attended lectures at 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 ...

in 1876, becoming the first woman to do so. After this she was made a professor of ''materia medica'' and therapeutics at the Woman's Medical College, a title she would retain until 1905.

Career

In 1882 Marshall was the first woman to join the faculty of Blockley Medical College, as a demonstrator in obstetrics. In her 1897 book ''The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania: An Historical Outline'', she praised chairman John Huggard for offering her the opportunity, writing: "To this gentleman, more than to any other, belongs the honor of extending more fully to women the clinical advantages of this great hospital." In 1886 she became an attending physician at the Girls' Department of the Philadelphia House of Refuge. Marshall became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Woman's Medical College in 1888, after the death of Rachel Bodley. During her tenure, her achievements included expanding degree programs from three to four years, increasing the number of subjects taught, and instituting an entrance exam. In 1896 she oversaw the establishment of the first professorship in bacteriology and a laboratory for its instruction. She encouraged students to author academic papers, and in 1895 compiled a list of over 500 such publications. In 1904, Marshall's fundraising efforts resulted in the construction of Pavilion Hospital on the college grounds. From 1907 to 1913 this was expanded to the larger College Hospital. She retired as dean in 1917 and worked in private practice until shortly before her death from

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis, literally meaning "hardening of the arteries", is an umbrella term for a vascular disorder characterized by abnormal thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries; this process gradually restricts th ...

in 1931. Marshall was a member of organizations such as the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the Obstetrical Society of Philadelphia, the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, and the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

. She was a founding member of the New Century Club, and advocated for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

and the admission of women to medical societies. She was a school board member and a school director in Philadelphia's Eighth Ward.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Clara 1847 births 1931 deaths American Quakers Physicians from Philadelphia American women physicians Deaths from arteriosclerosis People from West Chester, Pennsylvania School board members in Pennsylvania Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni American women academic administrators American academic administrators