Julia Holmes Smith (December 23, 1839 – November 10, 1930) was an American physician, publisher, and suffragist from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Born to a wealthy family, she received private tutoring then attended a women's school 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 ...

. Widowed at an early age, Smith remarried in 1872 and attended medical classes at the

Boston University School of Medicine The Boston University School of Medicine (formally the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine) is the medical school of Boston University, a private university, private research university in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in ...

and Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. She opened a medical practice in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and was the first dean of the National Medical College. In 1895, she was appointed the first female trustee of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

Biography

Julia Holmes was born on December 23, 1839, in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, to a wealthy family. Holmes grew up in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where she was tutored at home. She attended school in

, graduating from the Spingler Institute for Girls when she was eighteen. Holmes married Waldo Abbott, nephew of principal Gorham Dummer Abbott, in 1860. He died four years later of yellow fever, leaving a son and a daughter; the daughter died months later. To support herself in the meantime, Holmes taught school and published. She was the drama critic for the '' New Orleans Picayune''. In 1872, Holmes married wealthy merchant Sabin Smith and moved with him to

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. She attended

from 1872 to 1874, then studied medicine in

. She moved to

in 1876, where she completed her medical education at the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, graduating in 1877. Smith opened a medical practice specializing in general and medical gynecology. She also lectured on diseases of women at Chicago Homeopathic. Smith was the first dean of the National Medical College, serving three years. In 1886, she co-founded the

Illinois Woman's Press Association The Illinois Woman's Press Association (IWPA) is an Illinois-based organization of professional women and men pursuing careers across the communications spectrum. It was founded in 1885 by a group of 47 women who saw a need for communication and su ...

in her home. She was a founding member of the

Queen Isabella Association The Queen Isabella Association was formed to raise funds to provide a statue of Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella of Spain on the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. The group's additional purpose was to advance ...

. She was on the board of directors of the Congress of Women of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

of 1893. She unsuccessfully campaigned for a position as trustee, at the time an elected position, of the

in 1894. However, the next year, Governor

John Peter Altgeld John Peter Altgeld (December 30, 1847 – March 12, 1902) was an American politician and the 20th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1893 until 1897. He was the first Democrat to govern that state since the 1850s. A leading figure of the Prog ...

named Smith as the school's first female trustee to fill a vacancy. Thanks to the success of Smith, eleven of the eighteen candidates for the university board the next year were women. Smith was a fellow of 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 ...

and a member of the

American Institute of Homeopathy The American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), established in 1844, is the oldest extant national physician's organization in the United States. The founding president of the AIH was Constantine Hering. Past AIH presidents include Royal S. Copela ...

. She lived in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

. Smith retired in 1917 and died November 10, 1930, in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,475 as of the 2020 census. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the United States in terms of household income. It was ...

. She was cremated at

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park R ...

in Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Julia Holmes 1839 births 1930 deaths 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians Boston University School of Medicine alumni Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) Leaders of the University of Illinois Physicians from New Orleans People from Oak Park, Illinois Physicians from Savannah, Georgia Physicians from Illinois Women heads of universities and colleges