Mary Hancock McLean, 1861-1930
Illustration by Rori! created for the Missouri History Museum exhibit "Beyond the Ballot: St. Louis and Suffrage."
Description from the "Beyond the Ballot" exhibit. Written by Katie Moon.
An enthusiastic advocate for women’s health, Mary Hancock McLean was one of the first formally trained female physicians to practice in St. Louis. Born in Washington, Missouri, Mary was tutored privately and began studying at Lindenwood College when she was just 13 years old. She graduated from the University of Michigan’s medical school in 1883, then moved back to her home state.
With limited employment options, she joined the staff of the St. Louis Female Hospital, which treated poor women and prostitutes. She opened her own practice in 1885, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Her first patient, a black woman named Tillie, needed surgery for a uterine fibroid. Mary spent days sterilizing her instruments before performing the operation in Tillie’s home. News of the surgery’s success traveled quickly, and Mary was soon one of the city’s most in-demand doctors.
That same year, Mary became the first woman member of the St. Louis Medical Society. She was purportedly nominated for membership as “M. H. McLean” to hide that the M stood for Mary. It took nearly two decades for the society to admit another female physician. She opened the Evening Dispensary for Women in 1893, a clinic that provided free and discounted medical services for working women until 1928. Mary was deeply religious and took several medical mission trips to Asia, where she paid for the medical training of several Chinese and Japanese women.
Mary Hancock McLean, 1861-1930
Illustration by Rori! created for the Missouri History Museum exhibit "Beyond the Ballot: St. Louis and Suffrage."
Description from the "Beyond the Ballot" exhibit. Written by Katie Moon.
An enthusiastic advocate for women’s health, Mary Hancock McLean was one of the first formally trained female physicians to practice in St. Louis. Born in Washington, Missouri, Mary was tutored privately and began studying at Lindenwood College when she was just 13 years old. She graduated from the University of Michigan’s medical school in 1883, then moved back to her home state.
With limited employment options, she joined the staff of the St. Louis Female Hospital, which treated poor women and prostitutes. She opened her own practice in 1885, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Her first patient, a black woman named Tillie, needed surgery for a uterine fibroid. Mary spent days sterilizing her instruments before performing the operation in Tillie’s home. News of the surgery’s success traveled quickly, and Mary was soon one of the city’s most in-demand doctors.
That same year, Mary became the first woman member of the St. Louis Medical Society. She was purportedly nominated for membership as “M. H. McLean” to hide that the M stood for Mary. It took nearly two decades for the society to admit another female physician. She opened the Evening Dispensary for Women in 1893, a clinic that provided free and discounted medical services for working women until 1928. Mary was deeply religious and took several medical mission trips to Asia, where she paid for the medical training of several Chinese and Japanese women.