• DOCTOR
  
• FIRST woman from India to study medicine in the United States
• Born Yamuna Joshi, into a poor but noble family
• Married 26-year-old Gopalrao Joshee when she was 9 years old
• Gave birth to her first and only child at age 12 (!!!), but her son lived for only ten days
• Her husband, contrary to traditional views, believed she should be educated and supported her desire to become a doctor (but he obviously had no problem with child marriage, so...)
• When she encountered brutal resistance from local hospitals and medical schools, her husband tried to enroll her at Princeton University, but they rejected her because she was Hindu
• Desperate, Anandi gave an impromptu speech at Serampore College Hall, illuminating the need for women doctors and asking for money to become one
• Once she garnered enough funds to pay for her ticket, she went to America to live with Theodicia Carpenter, a woman with whom she'd been corresponding for a few years
• Anandi went to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, living with the dean herself and graduating from the four-year program one year ahead of schedule
• The post of "lady doctor" was created especially for her at Albert Edward Hospital in Kolhapur, India, but she had been struggling with poor health for some time and died of consumption at 21 years old, before she had a chance to practice
• Also often referred to as Anandi Gopal Joshi

By Dall, Caroline Wells Healey, 1822-1912 (http://xdl.drexelmed.edu/item.php?object_id=001128) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Kosambi, Meera. "Joshee, Anandibai." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Vol. 2, Oxford University Press, 2008, 663-664.
Maggs, Sam. Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2016. Print.

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