15 Facts About Martha Ripley

Martha George Rogers Ripley was an American physician, suffragist, and professor of medicine.

Founder of the Maternity Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ripley was one of the most outspoken activists for disadvantaged female rights.

Martha Ripley George Rogers was born November 30,1843, in Lowell, Vermont, the oldest of five children of Esther Ann and Francis Rogers, a stock farmer.

Martha Ripley was awarded a first-class teacher's certificate and taught elementary school for a time.

Martha Ripley joined the suffragists in 1875 and worked to establish an active suffrage group in Middleton, becoming close friends of Boston suffragettes Lucy Stone and Henry Browne Blackwell.

Martha Ripley was enrolled in the Homeopathy tradition rather than the male-dominated Allopathic medicine.

Martha Ripley received her license to practice in 1883, making her one of the first two dozen licensed women doctors in the state.

At one point, Martha Ripley went so far as to personally petition the state senate for the right to vote.

Martha Ripley promoted more matrons on the police force and women's involvement on the city board.

Martha Ripley became an early advocate for cremation, on the grounds of both public health and reduced costs for the urban poor.

In one of the many letters written to a Minneapolis editor, Martha Ripley noted that the property of young girls was better protected by the state than their persons.

Martha Ripley was inspired to start a new hospital run by and for women, especially women in economically straitened circumstances.

Martha Ripley's activism was well known, respected, but often ridiculed.

Martha Ripley was nominated director of public schools, but she was notably not elected due to her ineligibility as a female.

Martha Ripley was a professor of children's diseases at the Homeopathic Medical College in Minnesota and was active in the Women's Rescue League, which aided prostitutes.