Alfreda Bosworth Withington

Alfreda Bosworth Withington
Born	August 15, 1860 Germantown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 1, 1951(1951-10-01) (aged 91) Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	Cornell University
Occupation	Physician
Medical career
Notable works	Mine eyes have seen: a woman doctor's saga OCLC 2139718

Alfreda Bosworth Withington (August 15, 1860 – October 1, 1951) was an American physician and author.[1]

Biography

Withington was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in present-day Philadelphia, where her father, James Hervey Withington, was headmaster of Germantown Academy.[1] She was named for her mother, Alfreda Bosworth.[2] She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York from 1877 to 1881. She then interned at the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, but was refused a position at the Infirmary, since none of the directors would agree to let her take the entrance examination.[3]

At the age of 63, she obtained a Kentucky medical license and traveled to work as a medical settlement physician for seven years, between 1924 and 1931, ordinarily making calls on horseback.[4] Withington wrote her memoir titled Mine Eyes Have Seen in 1941.[5]

Death

On October 1, 1951, she died and was buried in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[6]

References

1. "Pioneer Woman Physician Dies in Pittsfield". The North Adams Transcript. 1 October 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
2. Lineage Book. The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 1904. p. 336. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
3. "Dr. ALFREDA WITHINGTON - PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS". PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL COLLECTIONS. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
4. "Mine Eyes Have Seen: A Woman Doctor's Saga". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 117: 76. 5 July 1941. doi:10.1001/jama.1941.02820270076034. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
5. Woods, Katherine (April 13, 1941). "She Enjoyed Being a Doctor; Alfreda Withington's "Mine Eyes Have Seen" Is an Interesting Memoir of Service at Home, in Labrador and in France". The New York Times.
6. "Dr Alfreda Bosworth Withington (1860-1951) - Find..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.