Elizabeth Blackwell was a visionary whose genius for medicine and social reform broke through the gender barriers of the 19th century. After being rejected by 29 medical schools, she was accepted into Geneva Medical College as a practical joke by the student body. She graduated top of her class, becoming the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. Blackwell’s genius extended to public health; she founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, emphasizing hygiene and preventative medicine. She was a tireless advocate for women's education in the sciences and paved the way for generations of female physicians through her teaching and hospital administration.