Elizabeth Blackwell

"The true reason why so few women nowadays write much better than they do is that they are taught to aim at being elegant rather than at being emphatic or powerful."

"I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must learn to protect herself, and there I take my stand."

"It is not easy to be a pioneer, but oh, it is fascinating!"

"A woman must be able to maintain herself, and to do this she must be either sufficiently well educated to teach, or to have some special accomplishment or trade."

"The world grows by the admission of women to wider spheres of usefulness."

"If there was one thing I was afraid of it was an idle life."

"I felt that to become a good doctor I must work harder than the average man."

"The true reason I became a doctor was not a sudden call, it was a gradual impulse."

"When I think of a great wrong, I cannot be silent."

"For what is friendship but a name?"

"I regard the wonders of nature with an attitude of reverence and admiration."

"The question then is not whether women should be admitted to medical practice, but whether they should be excluded."

"I have never doubted for a moment the capacity of women to enter medicine."

"There is no profession which is forbidden to women."

"The science of medicine is a noble pursuit, and women should be part of it."

"I have had the satisfaction of knowing that I was the first woman to be admitted to the medical profession in England."

"The greatest interest of my life has been the acquisition of knowledge."

"A woman must be educated if she is to be a good wife and mother."

"I have always felt that women have the right to all the professions open to men."

"The prejudice against women physicians was not so much against the individual as against the sex."

"I did not hesitate to face the opposition, for I knew my mission was righteous."

"Medicine was my calling, and I answered it with all my heart."

"The path of pioneer is not an easy one, but it is a glorious one."

"I have never regretted my choice to become a doctor."

"Women must learn to rely on their own strength and abilities."

"The world needs women physicians as much as it needs women teachers."

"I refused to be defeated by the obstacles in my way."

"My life has been dedicated to the service of humanity."

"The medical profession should be open to all who are qualified, regardless of sex."

"I have always believed that women have the same intellectual capacity as men."