Lilian Welsh (March 6, 1858 – February 23, 1938) was an American physician, educator,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, and advocate for women's health. She was on the faculty at Woman's College of Baltimore and an active member of

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National Woma ...

. Welsh was posthumously inducted into the

Maryland Women's Hall of Fame Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 2017.

Early life and education

Welsh was born in

Columbia, Pennsylvania Columbia, formerly Wright's Ferry, is a borough (town) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 10,222. It is southeast of Harrisburg, on the east (left) bank of the Susquehanna River, ...

, on March 6, 1858, to Annie Eunice (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Young) of Wrightsville and Thomas Welsh of Columbia. She was the fourth child and daughter in her family. Her father had served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

before becoming a merchant and canalboat owner. He later rejoined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

after the

Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (also the Attack on Fort Sumter or the Fall of Fort Sumter) (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina, by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender of the ...

to serve in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general in 1863 before dying later that year of an illness during the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

. In 1873, Welsh graduated from Columbia High School. She graduated from

Millersville State Normal School Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the ten schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Educa ...

in 1875. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, Welsh returned to Columbia High School, where she worked as the principal for five years before entering 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 ...

in 1886. She earned a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1889. Welsh originally intended to become a

physiological chemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

teacher, and attended

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

from 1889 to 1890 to prepare for this. In Zurich, she took the university's first course on

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

with her friend Mary Sherwood.

Career in medicine and health advocacy

Welsh never found a teaching position, and later became a physician at

Norristown State Hospital Norristown State Hospital, originally known as the ''State Lunatic Hospital at Norristown'', is an active state-funded psychiatric hospital located outside the city of Philadelphia in suburban Norristown, Pennsylvania. It was originally designed ...

in 1890. Two years later, Welsh joined

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

, to establish a private practice in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Welsh and Sherwood were both interested in "preventive medicine and the health of expectant mothers and babies." They encountered

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...

and eventually closed their private practice. Welsh reflected in 1927:

“Most people still prefer men physicians to women in practically all lines. The women who have the largest general practice have settled, for the most part, in sections where live those who are not especially well off financially and where there are large foreign populations. In those communities which are popularly supposed to be inhabited by the more enlightened, the prejudice is all in favor of the masculine physician, no matter what may be the skill of the women."

She added:

“The most bitter critics of women as doctors and nurses were women more often than men…the conviction was deep rooted and widespread that women by nature were incapacitated for intellectual pursuits and any calling required education, knowledge and special skill were outside woman’s sphere.”

In 1894, Welsh joined the faculty at Woman's College of Baltimore, later known as

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

, and served as the physician to students and as a professor of physiology and hygiene. She taught courses to women in personal and public health and physical exercise. Welsh was known at the college as an outspoken advocate of women's health and hygiene. For several years, she was the only female

Full Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

. Welsh associated with Goucher College for thirty years. Welsh and Sherwood later were in charge of the Evening Dispensary For Working Women and Girls that was founded by Alice Hall and

Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead (April 6, 1867 – January 1, 1941) was a pioneering feminist and obstetrician who promoted the role of women in medicine. She wrote ''A History of Women in Medicine: From the Earliest of Times to the Beginning of the Nin ...

. They directed the dispensary until its closure in 1910. In 1897, Welsh became the secretary of the Baltimore Association for the Promotion of the University Education of Women which advocated for women be accepted into the graduate school at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. This eventually occurred in 1908. Around the turn of the century, Welsh was on a commission to fight

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

was "at the forefront" of the Children's Welfare Movement.

Suffrage advocacy and civic involvement

Welsh was an active member of the

, participating in many street parades and she helped prepare the 1906 convention. She collaborated with

Mary Garrett Mary Elizabeth Garrett (March 5, 1854 – April 3, 1915) was an American suffragist and philanthropist. She was the youngest child and only daughter of John W. Garrett, a philanthropist and president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B. & O.). ...

, Mary Sherwood, and Susan B. Anthony on the "College Evening" event. Welsh facilitated 100 Goucher students and suffragists to attend the

Woman suffrage parade of 1913 The Woman Suffrage Procession on March 3, 1913, was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. It was also the first large, organized march on Washington for political purposes. The procession was organized by the suffragists Alice Paul a ...

. Welsh was also a member of the Arundell Club and the Arundell Good Government Club.

Personal life

Welsh never married. In 1935, she returned to her family's home in Columbia,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, after the death of Mary Sherwood, her long-time companion and life partner. Welsh died of

encephalitis lethargica Encephalitis lethargica (EL) is an atypical form of encephalitis. Also known as "von Economo Encephalitis", "sleeping sickness" or "sleepy sickness" (distinct from tsetse fly–transmitted sleeping sickness), it was first described in 1917 by ne ...

on February 23, 1938.

Honors

Welsh was posthumously inducted into the

in 2017.

Selected works

Articles

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Books

* *