This Day in History: br First Woman M.D. January 23, 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell was br granted a medical degree br from Geneva College in New York, br now known as Hobart College. She became the first female br to be officially recognized br as a physician in U.S. history. Born in Bristol, England, Blackwell br came to the United States in her youth br and attended the medical faculty of Geneva College. After several years of private practice, br she co-founded the New York br Infirmary for Women and Children br in 1857. In 1868, the institution br was expanded to include a br women’s college for the br training of nurses and doctors. Blackwell returned to England, br where she became professor br of gynecology at the London br School of Medicine for Women in 1875.