Dr. Edith M. Lincoln

Through my research, I've learned about an extraordinary woman named Edith M. Lincoln who was responsible for lowering the rate of tuberculosis (TB) among children during the early part of the 20th century. In 1917, Dr. Lincoln was the first female physician to intern at Bellevue Hospital in NYC and she was eventually appointed to lead the children’s chest clinic in 1922.

In the 1930's, one of every five children admitted to the TB ward at Bellevue died within a year of the disease. By 1947, with federal funding, Dr. Lincoln studied the impact of streptomycin and other drugs and discovered that the rate of recovery and survival increased. Streptomycin became readily available for use by the time my sister Kathy contracted tuberculosis meningitis when she was three years old.

Kathy was treated with massive dosages of streptomycin at Bellevue under Dr. Lincoln’s watch. Thanks to Dr. Lincoln, my sister survived.

Dr. Lincoln was born in New York City, she graduated in 1912 from Vassar College, and won her admission to the Johns Hopkins University medical school. She received her Medical degree in 1916. Her 1977 obituary in the New York Times listed the age of her death as 86.