Mary Riggs Noble (1872 – 1965) was an American physician, hospital administrator, public health educator, and state official. She also served as a Christian medical missionary in Ludhiana, India. She was the first recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal in 1949.
Mary Riggs Noble
Born
1872
New Jersey
Died
1965
Nationality
American
Occupation(s)
physician, medical missionary, hospital administrator, public health official
American women missionaries nicknamed the "Jubilee Troupe", speaking at missionary society celebrations in 1911. Front row: Florence Miller, Helen Barrett Montgomery, Jennie V. Hughes; Back row: Mary Riggs Noble, Etta Doane Marden, Mrs. W. T. Elmore, and Mary E. Carleton.
Career
Mission work and tuberculosis clinic
Noble practiced medicine in Colorado after completing her medical degree. She taught and practiced at the Woman's Medical College in Ludhiana as a Presbyterian medical missionary from 1906 to 1909.[3] She served women who would not, for religious reasons, be seen by male doctors. She published pamphlets based on this work, The Mission Station as a Social Settlement, Hospital Work in India, and Baby And Mother Welfare Work In India.[4][5]
She settled again in Colorado Springs, where she was medical director at a free tuberculosis clinic in the 1910s.[4][6] In 1911 she toured with other women missionaries nicknamed the "Jubilee Troupe"[7] engaged to speak at the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society jubilee celebrations in various cities[8][9] including Denver, Boston, New York[10] and Washington.[11] She addressed the annual conference of the Colorado State Union of Student Volunteers in Denver in 1914.[12]
World War I
In 1917 and 1918, during World War I, she served on the YWCA's war council, and gave a series of talks on "sex hygiene" and "social morality" in southern and western cities, including Nashville,[13] Salt Lake City,[14] Tulsa, Austin,[15] Topeka,[16] and Wichita.[17] "Her message will be most timely on account of the present emotional strain to which men and women are subjected," commented a Nashville newspaper.[13] "Her lectures will urge morality as the greatest of all patriotic war work," explained a Utah newspaper.[14]
Pennsylvania Department of Health
In the 1920s and 1930s, Noble was chief of the Preschool Division and head of the Division of Child Hygiene in the Pennsylvania Department of Health.[4] In that role she wrote A Manual for Expectant Mothers, a brief publication on childbirth.[18] She reported on the effort to regulate midwifery in Pennsylvania,[19] and made reducing newborn and maternal mortality priorities of the state's health department.[20][21] She encouraged churches to include health information in their education programs, and to open clinics for children.[22] She testified at a Senate hearing on implementation of the Sheppard–Towner Act in 1932.[23] She opposed "baby parades" as "deplorable exploitation of childhood" in a 1932 lecture at her alma mater, the Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia.[24]
Noble was a longtime volunteer with the Girl Scouts. When she retired from that work in 1958, she was presented with a bronze statuette from the Susquehanna Council of Girl Scouts.[29]
Personal life
Noble died in 1965, in her nineties. Some of her papers are at Drexel University.
References
^"Colorado College". Leadville Herald Democrat. June 21, 1896. p. 2. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
^"Operating in Memorial Hospital". Women Physicians: 1850s - 1970s; Drexel University Archives. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
^"Today's Meetings". Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. October 31, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
^ abcAntonovich, Jacqueline D. "Medical Frontiers: Women Physicians and the Politics and Practice of Medicine in the American West, 1870-1930" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan 2018): 270-272.
^"The Bookstall". Woman's Work. 34: 233. November 1919.
^Witherow, Leah Davis. "City of Sunshine" Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.
^Mobley, Kendal. "Remembering the Woman's Missionary Jubilee, 1910". Center for Global Christianity & Mission. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
^"The Jubilee Troupe" Life and Light for Woman 41(May 1911): 222.
^Bays, Daniel H.; Wacker, Grant (2010-03-14). The Foreign Missionary Enterprise at Home: Explorations in North American Cultural History. University of Alabama Press. pp. 289, note 7. ISBN9780817356408.
^Jennie Campbell Douglas, "Foreign Missionary Jubilee: How Washington is Preparing for One" New-York Observer (January 26, 1911): 211.
^"Student Volunteers Meet for Fifth Annual Conference". Silver and Gold. December 7, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.
^ ab"Noted Speaker to Come Here". Nashville Banner. October 14, 1917. p. 2. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ab"Dr. Mary Riggs Noble Will Speak to Women". Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News. September 10, 1917. p. 2. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
^"Dr. Mary Riggs Noble to Lecture in Austin on Social Morality". The Austin American. June 17, 1917. p. 4. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"The Social Morality Lectures". The Topeka Daily Capital. April 8, 1917. p. 4. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Twentieth Century to Meet at Y. W. C. A." The Wichita Daily Eagle. January 20, 1918. p. 8. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^Noble, Mary Riggs, A Manual for Expectant Mothers.
^Noble, Mary Riggs (December 1923). "The Present Midwife Situation in Pennsylvania, 1922-1923". Mother and Child. 4: 553–557.
^United States Congress House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1926). Extension of Public Protection of Maternity and Infancy Act: Hearing Before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Sixty-ninth Congress, First Session, on H.R. 7555, a Bill to Authorize ... Appropriations for Carrying Out the Provisions of the Act ..., January 14, 1926. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 16–18.
^"Dr. Mary Riggs Noble, Noted Health Worker, Speaks at Donora". The Daily Republican. May 15, 1925. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Establish Health Clinics is Advice". Lancaster New Era. October 12, 1922. p. 8. Retrieved November 16, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^United States Congress Senate Committee on Commerce (1932). Federal Cooperation with States in Promotion of General Health of Rural Population of the United States and Welfare and Hygiene of Mothers and Children: Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Seventy-Second Congress, First Session, on Feb. 4, 5, 1932. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 270–273.
^"Baby Parades Hit as 'Exploitation'". The New York Times. September 22, 1932. p. 24 – via ProQuest.
^"Dr. Mabel Akin New Pilot of American Medical Women". Courier-Post. June 9, 1937. p. 14. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^Latta, Susan (2017-09-01). Bold Women of Medicine: 21 Stories of Astounding Discoveries, Daring Surgeries, and Healing Breakthroughs. Chicago Review Press. ISBN9781613734407.
^"AMWA". American Medical Women's Association. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
^"Tri-County Child Guidance Center Headed by Veteran Social Worker" The Harrisburg Telegraph (October 4, 1946): 17. via Newspapers.com
^"Susquehanna Council of Girl Scouts Hold Annual Meeting". The News-Sun. October 23, 1958. p. 6. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
mary, riggs, noble, 1872, 1965, american, physician, hospital, administrator, public, health, educator, state, official, also, served, christian, medical, missionary, ludhiana, india, first, recipient, elizabeth, blackwell, medal, 1949, born1872new, jerseydied. Mary Riggs Noble 1872 1965 was an American physician hospital administrator public health educator and state official She also served as a Christian medical missionary in Ludhiana India She was the first recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal in 1949 Mary Riggs NobleBorn1872New JerseyDied1965NationalityAmericanOccupation s physician medical missionary hospital administrator public health officialAwardsElizabeth Blackwell Medal 1949 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Mission work and tuberculosis clinic 2 2 World War I 2 3 Pennsylvania Department of Health 2 4 Professional honors 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditNoble was born in New Jersey and raised in Colorado Springs Colorado She graduated from Colorado College in 1896 1 and from the Woman s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1901 2 American women missionaries nicknamed the Jubilee Troupe speaking at missionary society celebrations in 1911 Front row Florence Miller Helen Barrett Montgomery Jennie V Hughes Back row Mary Riggs Noble Etta Doane Marden Mrs W T Elmore and Mary E Carleton Career EditMission work and tuberculosis clinic Edit Noble practiced medicine in Colorado after completing her medical degree She taught and practiced at the Woman s Medical College in Ludhiana as a Presbyterian medical missionary from 1906 to 1909 3 She served women who would not for religious reasons be seen by male doctors She published pamphlets based on this work The Mission Station as a Social Settlement Hospital Work in India and Baby And Mother Welfare Work In India 4 5 She settled again in Colorado Springs where she was medical director at a free tuberculosis clinic in the 1910s 4 6 In 1911 she toured with other women missionaries nicknamed the Jubilee Troupe 7 engaged to speak at the Woman s Foreign Missionary Society jubilee celebrations in various cities 8 9 including Denver Boston New York 10 and Washington 11 She addressed the annual conference of the Colorado State Union of Student Volunteers in Denver in 1914 12 World War I Edit In 1917 and 1918 during World War I she served on the YWCA s war council and gave a series of talks on sex hygiene and social morality in southern and western cities including Nashville 13 Salt Lake City 14 Tulsa Austin 15 Topeka 16 and Wichita 17 Her message will be most timely on account of the present emotional strain to which men and women are subjected commented a Nashville newspaper 13 Her lectures will urge morality as the greatest of all patriotic war work explained a Utah newspaper 14 Pennsylvania Department of Health Edit In the 1920s and 1930s Noble was chief of the Preschool Division and head of the Division of Child Hygiene in the Pennsylvania Department of Health 4 In that role she wrote A Manual for Expectant Mothers a brief publication on childbirth 18 She reported on the effort to regulate midwifery in Pennsylvania 19 and made reducing newborn and maternal mortality priorities of the state s health department 20 21 She encouraged churches to include health information in their education programs and to open clinics for children 22 She testified at a Senate hearing on implementation of the Sheppard Towner Act in 1932 23 She opposed baby parades as deplorable exploitation of childhood in a 1932 lecture at her alma mater the Woman s Medical College in Philadelphia 24 Professional honors Edit In 1937 Noble was elected treasurer of the American Medical Women s Association 25 1949 she became the first recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal for making pathways for other women in medicine and as a leader in women s health 26 27 She was a fellow of the American College of Physicians a life member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Medical Association 28 Noble was a longtime volunteer with the Girl Scouts When she retired from that work in 1958 she was presented with a bronze statuette from the Susquehanna Council of Girl Scouts 29 Personal life EditNoble died in 1965 in her nineties Some of her papers are at Drexel University References Edit Colorado College Leadville Herald Democrat June 21 1896 p 2 Retrieved November 17 2019 via NewspaperArchive com Operating in Memorial Hospital Women Physicians 1850s 1970s Drexel University Archives Retrieved 2019 11 16 Today s Meetings Lincoln Nebraska State Journal October 31 1910 p 3 Retrieved November 17 2019 via NewspaperArchive com a b c Antonovich Jacqueline D Medical Frontiers Women Physicians and the Politics and Practice of Medicine in the American West 1870 1930 Ph D dissertation University of Michigan 2018 270 272 The Bookstall Woman s Work 34 233 November 1919 Witherow Leah Davis City of Sunshine Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum Mobley Kendal Remembering the Woman s Missionary Jubilee 1910 Center for Global Christianity amp Mission Retrieved 2019 11 16 The Jubilee Troupe Life and Light for Woman 41 May 1911 222 Bays Daniel H Wacker Grant 2010 03 14 The Foreign Missionary Enterprise at Home Explorations in North American Cultural History University of Alabama Press pp 289 note 7 ISBN 9780817356408 Augustus Woman s Foreign Missionary Jubilee New York Observer April 6 1911 424 Jennie Campbell Douglas Foreign Missionary Jubilee How Washington is Preparing for One New York Observer January 26 1911 211 Student Volunteers Meet for Fifth Annual Conference Silver and Gold December 7 1914 p 1 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection a b Noted Speaker to Come Here Nashville Banner October 14 1917 p 2 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Newspapers com a b Dr Mary Riggs Noble Will Speak to Women Salt Lake City Deseret Evening News September 10 1917 p 2 Retrieved November 17 2019 via NewspaperArchive com Dr Mary Riggs Noble to Lecture in Austin on Social Morality The Austin American June 17 1917 p 4 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Newspapers com The Social Morality Lectures The Topeka Daily Capital April 8 1917 p 4 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Newspapers com Twentieth Century to Meet at Y W C A The Wichita Daily Eagle January 20 1918 p 8 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Newspapers com Noble Mary Riggs A Manual for Expectant Mothers Noble Mary Riggs December 1923 The Present Midwife Situation in Pennsylvania 1922 1923 Mother and Child 4 553 557 United States Congress House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce 1926 Extension of Public Protection of Maternity and Infancy Act Hearing Before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce House of Representatives Sixty ninth Congress First Session on H R 7555 a Bill to Authorize Appropriations for Carrying Out the Provisions of the Act January 14 1926 U S Government Printing Office pp 16 18 Dr Mary Riggs Noble Noted Health Worker Speaks at Donora The Daily Republican May 15 1925 p 1 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Newspapers com Establish Health Clinics is Advice Lancaster New Era October 12 1922 p 8 Retrieved November 16 2019 via Newspapers com United States Congress Senate Committee on Commerce 1932 Federal Cooperation with States in Promotion of General Health of Rural Population of the United States and Welfare and Hygiene of Mothers and Children Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce Seventy Second Congress First Session on Feb 4 5 1932 U S Government Printing Office pp 270 273 Baby Parades Hit as Exploitation The New York Times September 22 1932 p 24 via ProQuest Dr Mabel Akin New Pilot of American Medical Women Courier Post June 9 1937 p 14 Retrieved November 17 2019 via Newspapers com Latta Susan 2017 09 01 Bold Women of Medicine 21 Stories of Astounding Discoveries Daring Surgeries and Healing Breakthroughs Chicago Review Press ISBN 9781613734407 AMWA American Medical Women s Association Retrieved 2019 11 17 Tri County Child Guidance Center Headed by Veteran Social Worker The Harrisburg Telegraph October 4 1946 17 via Newspapers com Susquehanna Council of Girl Scouts Hold Annual Meeting The News Sun October 23 1958 p 6 Retrieved November 17 2019 via Newspapers com External links EditMary Riggs Noble at Find a Grave Dr Mary Rigg Noble s service in India nine photographs Drexel University Library Portal Biography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mary Riggs Noble amp oldid 1123963439, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
