Mélanie Lipinska, born in Poland, was best known for her contributions as a historian of women physicians[1]. Lipinska was a physician herself, educated at the University of Paris[2]. She received recognition for her thesis "Histore des Femmes Medicins" which she submitted in 1900[3].

Early Life and Education

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Mélanie Lipinska (lived in the1920s) was born in Warsaw, Poland. Lipinska was blind during her time of scientific contribution[4]. Although she was born in Poland she spent much of her adult life in France[5] . It is in France where she attended the University of Paris medical school [2]. Her initial training as a physician was in Polish hospitals. However, her later training was in Parisian hospitals. During Lipinska's training she worked closely with Josephine Joteyko, a physician and physiologist[5]. Joteyko was one of the first females to become a physician in Poland. She also studied at the University of Paris in addition to the University of Geneva[6].

Scientific Contributions

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Lipinska wrote her thesis titled "Histore des Femmes Medicins" in 1900 to receive her doctorate in medicine[3]. Her thesis included commentary on the medical writings of Saint Hildegarde. Saint Hildegarde's work was considered to cover most known diagnostic techniques available for physicians in her life time[2]. Her techniques were holistic, based on ideas of spiritual healing effect on physical healing[7]. Lipinska considered the writing of Abbes Hildegard to be the most notable of her time[3]. Lipinska's largest contribution to the scientific community was her writings of women physicians, she is considered a historian of women doctors[1].

Lipinska later travled to the United States on September 29th. She arrived in New York, and traveled to California where she did research on the Blind, for the American Society of the Blind[4].

Scientific Recognition

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While at the University of Paris, Mélanie Lipinska received the Victor Hugo Award. The Victor Hugo award was given to the best quinquennial writing of the medical nature. The award was given for her thesis "Histore des Femmes Medicines" which can be translated to "History of Female Physicians from Ancient Times to the Present Day". With this award, she was given 100 francs[8].

  1. ^ a b "Doctors: Medieval | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  2. ^ a b c Walsh, James (1911). Old Time Makers of Medicine. New York: Fordham University Press. pp. 194–201.
  3. ^ a b c "Medical Education For Women. Part 2". bookdome.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  4. ^ a b JAMA. American Medical Association. 1922-01-01.
  5. ^ a b Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (2003). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. New York: Routledge. p. 794. ISBN 9781135963439.
  6. ^ Windsor, Laura Lynn (2002-01-01). Women in Medicine: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576073926.
  7. ^ "Hildegard of Bingen". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2016-10-04.
  8. ^ "Boston Evening Transcript - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.