Born: 1-Dec-1813
Birthplace: West Grove, PA
Died: 18-Apr-1872
Location of death: Philadelphia, PA
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Fair Hill Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA

Gender: Female
Religion: Quaker
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Doctor, Activist

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Woman's Medical College and Woman's Hospital

Ann Preston attended a Quaker boarding school, but dropped out to return home and care for her ailing mother. By the norms of her time, even her limited education was far better than most girls got, but she yearned for more. She studied on her own at the local library, taught girls' hygiene to all-female classes, and apprenticed for two years with local physician Nathaniel R. Moseley. She then applied for admission to several medical schools, but was rejected for her gender.

At her urging, local Quakers then established the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, where Preston earned her medical degree in 1851. In 1858, when the Pennsylvania Medical Society banned women from providing doctors' services at hospitals, she began soliciting contributions to establish a Women's Hospital for clinical training, and Philadelphia Women's Hospital opened its doors in 1862. In 1866 Preston was named Dean of Woman's Medical College, making her the first female Dean of any medical school, and under her leadership the college became the first to admit women regardless of any race. She was an active abolitionist, and friend of Lucretia Mott. She never married.

Father: Amos Preston
Mother: Margaret Smith Preston

    High School: Friends Boarding School, Chester, PA (dropped out)
    Medical School: MD, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1851)
    Professor: Physiology and Hygiene, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1853-72)
    Administrator: Dean, Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1866-72)

    English Ancestry

Author of books:
Cousin Ann's Stories (1849, children's stories)

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