Alice Hamilton

Alice Hamilton was the first woman appointed to the faculty of Harvard University and was a leading expert in the field of occupational health. She was a pioneer in the field of toxicology, studying occupational illnesses and the dangerous effects of industrial metals and chemical compounds on the human body.

Alice Hamilton was born in 1869 to Montgomery Hamilton and Gertrude Hamilton , in New York City, New York and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was the second of four girls, all of whom remained close throughout their childhood and into their professional careers. Among her sisters was classicist Edith Hamilton. Alice was home schooled and completed her early education at Miss Porters School in Farmington, Connecticut, as did her sister Edith Hamilton. Hamilton read widely and cited a literary influence for inspiring her to become a physician I meant to be a medical missionary to Teheran, having been fascinated by the description of Persia in ODonovans The Merv Oasis. I doubted if I could ever be good enough to be a real missionary, but if I could care for the sick, that would do instead.

Source: Wikipedia