Whatever happened to Dorothy Reed?

Abstract

Born in 1874, Dorothy Reed entered the fourth medical school class at Johns Hopkins Medical School. After internship, she spent a year as University Fellow in Pathology, during which time she wrote and illustrated her well-known paper, "On the Pathological Changes in Hodgkin's Disease, With Especial Reference to Its Relationship to Tuberculosis." She left pathology at Hopkins after 1 year because, as a woman, she was told she could not be appointed to the faculty and because of an unhappy love affair. She took training in pediatrics, married a long-time friend, and moved to Madison, WI. Her first two children died tragically; subsequently, she gave birth to two fine boys. She developed a new career as a pioneer in maternal and child health. She established infant welfare clinics in Madison, wrote pamphlets for the United States Children's Bureau, and taught college students child development and sexual hygiene. For the first time, the identity of her lover and his role in establishing her fame is revealed.