Emily Dunning Barringer, M.D.

 

In 1903, Emily Dunning Barringer, MD became the first woman to serve as an
ambulance surgeon in New York City. She was also an advocate for women’s health,
with a particular interest in venereal diseases and the plight of female inmates
in New York prisons. With the coming of the second World War, she worked
tirelessly to allow women physicians to serve as commissioned officers in the
armed services.
In 1950, she wrote an autobiography, "From Bowery to
Bellevue", about her experiences as an ambulance surgeon in 1903. Two years
after the book’s publication, a movie version, "The Girl in White", was
released.
This exhibit explores Dr. Barringer’s real and reel lives; journal
and newspaper articles, photographs, and books explore her professional life,
while  posters, ads, and memorobilia provide insight into the marketing of the
film.
The exhibit is on display in the Library, 3rd Floor of the New York
Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York NY. The display is available
for viewing Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9am to 5pm and Wednesday
from 9am to 7pm.