Alice Hamilton MD (1869 - 1970)

Born 27 Feb 1869 in Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States

Ancestors

Died 22 Sep 1970 at age 101 in Hadlyme, Lyme, New London, Connecticut, United States

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Biography

Alice Hamilton MD is Notable.

Alice Hamilton MD was a centenarian, living to age 101.

Early female physician, leading expert on toxicology and pollution. First woman among Harvard faculty in 1919 as professor of industrial hygiene at the Harvard School of Medicine and Public Health. She lived at Hull House in Chicago for over 20 years which informed her work about health and safety for industrial workers, and labor activism.

Alice was born into the household of Montgomery and Gertrude (Pond) Hamilton. Alice was born on Feb 22 1869 in Manhattan, New York, but moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana where she grew up, and was christened on July 3 of that year. ^[1] Alice was the second of four girls, Edith (1867-1963), Margaret (1871-1969) and Norah (1873-1945). The family continued to live in Fort Wayne, indiana for the 1880 and 1900 censuses. ^{[2] [3]}

Alice Hamilton, M.D. was a leader and pioneer in the field of industrial health and welfare. Although born in New York City and raised in Indiana, Hamilton summered on Mackinac Island where she developed her curiosity about and zest to meet new people.

Determined to have a career which would leave her independent and of use to society, she chose the field of medicine. After receiving a medical degree in 1893 from the University of Michigan, and completing postgraduate work abroad and hospital internships, she accepted a position teaching Pathology at Northwestern University's Women's Medical College and moved into Hull House in Chicago.

Settlement homes such as Hull House allowed educated people to live among and help those who were disadvantaged. (During this time Hull House became known as a model of social reform.) This is where Hamilton met industrial workers and discovered the health hazards of the work place. The neighborhood was described as a type of "human laboratory" and she lived in the house for more than twenty years.

Hamilton embarked on a career in industrial health, publishing one of the first articles in the field, and becoming an international expert on industrial disease and lead poisoning. Her work had tremendous impact on the health and welfare of America's industrial workers and led to better working conditions, worker's compensation laws, workplace-hazard and safety laws. Today she is called the Mother of Industrial Health.

After more than two decades working in Hull House, Hamilton accepted an appointment as assistant professor in the new industrial hygiene program in Harvard University's Medical School and School of Public Health. This made her Harvard's first female faculty member. She also published the first American textbook on industrial toxins and was a pioneer in revealing the dangers to workers of lead and other substances used in the rubber and munitions industries.

Although not one for politics, Hamilton's work with the disadvantaged ultimately lead her to pacifism, and to support of labor reform and birth control. She served two terms on the Health Committee for the League of Nations, an organization which she initially opposed.

Alice Hamilton is an inspiration and role model for women today. Her outstanding legacy lies in her vigilant and unending work to improve the health and protect the rights of American industrial workers. She saw a need to protect groups of people within society and spent her life working toward that goal.

Today, many of the laws and safety standards that protect us are a result of her efforts. Her life of service to those less fortunate is an example of how one person can make an impact on society. ^[4]

Alice was the first woman appointed as a member of the faculty at Harvard University. Alice was a pioneer in many different ways. She was a pioneer and recognized as an expert in the infancy of toxicology, specializing in occupational health hazards, and the effects of industrial metals and chemical compounds on the human body. She is considered the grandmother of industrial health.^[5]

Alice moved into Hull House so she could help and study recently arrived European immigrants. In 1911, Hull House had grown to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull House complex was completed, with it included a summer camp and a country club the social, educational, and artistic programs, Hull House, it had about 900 individuals. Some of Alice's ideas came from her living at Hull House and seeing the health issues that low income workers were dealing with from being exposed to unsafe working conditions. ^[6]

She lived to be 101 years of age and passed away on the 22nd of September in 1970 in New London County, Connecticut, USA.. She is buried in Cove Cemetery in Hadlyme, Connecticut.^[4]

She was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, as part of their first class in 1973. ^[7]

Dr Hamilton had a stamp issued in her honor on July 11, 1995. ^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ "Indiana Births and Christenings, 1773-1933", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4KTK-KHW2 : 13 January 2020), Alice Hamilton, 1869.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHM8-4GN : 13 January 2022), Allice Hamilton in household of Mont. Hamilton, Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district ED 125, sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:MMBH-MC3 : Mon Mar 20 09:28:09 UTC 2023), Entry for Narah Hamilton and Alice Hamilton, 1900.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #135749152
5. ↑ Wikiwand: Hull House
6. ↑ Wikiwand: Alice Hamilton
7. ↑ National Women's Hall of Fame
8. ↑ Smithsonian National Postal Museum

• Wilson, Tracey and Holly Frey. "Alice Hamilton and the Birth of Occupational Medicine." Stuff You Missed in History Class (podcast). iHeartMedia Inc. 6 May 2019. iHeartRadio.com (web). 9 May 2019.
• Daily Cup of Jane
• Changing the Face of Medicine: Alice Hamilton, National Libraries of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Published: 14 October 2003. Last updated: 03 June 2015.
• JD Thomas, "Dr. Alice Hamilton: Harvard’s First Woman Professor," Accessible Archives. March 24, 2014.
• Wikidata: Item Q275600, en:Wikipedia