Medical school application letter from Anandibai Joshee to Alfred Jones Esq., 1883
Courtesy of Legacy Center Archives, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, a291_006
Anandibai Joshee, c. 1880
Location unknown
Courtesy of Legacy Center Archives, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, hq1123j6_d2
The first Indian woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, Anandibai Joshee studied at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Stressing the need for female doctors in India, she wrote in her application letter, “My soul is moved to help the many who cannot help themselves.” Joshee graduated in 1886 and returned to India, where she was appointed physician-in-charge at the Albert Edward Hospital’s female ward in Kolhapur.