Preston, Ann, 1813-1872

Ann Preston (1813-1872) was a pioneer in women’s medical education. She graduated from the first class of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1851, served on the faculty, founded the Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a nursing school, and became the first woman dean of the Female Medical College in 1866. However, in addition to her contributions in medicine, Dr. Preston was also, “both moral and political reformer, visionary, fund-raiser, and institution builder,” (Peitzman, p. 45).

Ann Preston was born on December 1, 1813 at West Grove, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Amos and Margaret Smith Preston. Dr. Preston’s father was a farmer, a land owner and a Quaker minister, who imbued the family with the belief “in the Quaker principles of equality, simplicity and pacifism” (Hertzog, p. 64). Dr. Preston obtained her education at the local Quaker school as well as a Quaker boarding school located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She left school as a result of her mother’s illness in order to care for her family, but she continued her education informally via local literary associations and the lyceum. During this time, she became active in the Clarkson Anti-Slavery Society and worked towards abolition, temperance and women’s rights. She also wrote poems and a book of children’s rhymes, Cousin Ann’s Stories.

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