Read on Twitter![[THREAD]Get ready to love (Sara) Josephine Baker as much as I do. #WomenInSTEM #LGBTSTEM](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Et9sjCvXYAIIyA0.jpg "[THREAD]Get ready to love (Sara) Josephine Baker as much as I do. #WomenInSTEM #LGBTSTEM")
Sara Josephine Baker (1873-1945) was born in Poughkeepsie to a Quaker family. After her father and brother died of typhoid fever (remember this, it'll come back later), she felt the pressure to support her mother and sister financially and settled on a career in medicine 
She studied chemistry and biology at home and went on to enroll at the New York Infirmary Medical College.
This medical school for women was founded by the Blackwell sisters, Elizabeth (the 1st woman to receive a medical degree in the US) and Emily (the 3rd woman to do so).
This medical school for women was founded by the Blackwell sisters, Elizabeth (the 1st woman to receive a medical degree in the US) and Emily (the 3rd woman to do so).
She became fascinated with children during her studies (fun fact: the only class she failed was actually titled "The Normal Child") and graduated second in her class in 1898.
She then went on a one-year internship at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston.
She then went on a one-year internship at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston.
After her training, she began practicing as a private physician in New York. She passed the civil service and qualified to become a medical inspector at the Department of Health, where she started working part time from 1902.
By that time, she had acquired the nickname "Dr. Joe".
By that time, she had acquired the nickname "Dr. Joe".
After dedicating her attention to "that little pest, the normal child" (her words, not mine) in the school system, Joe Baker was offered an opportunity to work on lowering the mortality rate in Hell's Kitchen.
Nope, not the TV show.
Trust me, they might want to rebrand after that
Nope, not the TV show.
Trust me, they might want to rebrand after that
Back in Joe's time (and up until the 70s), Hell's Kitchen was considered New York's worst slum, where up to 4500 people died every week, 1500 of them infants.
The district was stricken with poverty but also with organised crime, child labor, poor hygiene and parental ignorance.
The district was stricken with poverty but also with organised crime, child labor, poor hygiene and parental ignorance.
Joe recognised the need for parental education and with a group of nurses, she began training mothers and older sisters in how to care for babies, from adequate clothing and dietary needs, to hygiene and health.
Joe also handled several obstetric and gynecologic cases.
Joe also handled several obstetric and gynecologic cases.
Because commercial milk at that time was often contaminated or tampered with to maximize profit, Joe set up a milk station where clean milk was given out. She also invented an infant formula that enabled mothers to go to work so they could support their families.
She helped prevent infant blindness (caused by bacteria transmitted during birth) by administering drops of silver nitrate. She had designed small containers made out of antibiotic beeswax to preserve the medicine from contamination. Blindness went from 300 to 3 babies/year.
But wait, there's more!
Meanwhile, Joe also campaigned to ensure midwives were able to get a licensed medical training, she put a doctor and nurse into each school (bye-bye head lice and trachoma!) and she also helped catch Mary Mallon. Twice.
Meanwhile, Joe also campaigned to ensure midwives were able to get a licensed medical training, she put a doctor and nurse into each school (bye-bye head lice and trachoma!) and she also helped catch Mary Mallon. Twice.
Who's Mary Mallon you ask? You might have heard of her under another name : Typhoid Mary.
She was a cook... and the first asymptomatic patient ever reported in the US for typhoid fever. And let me tell you: that woman sure as Hell's Kitchen didn't want to be put in quarantine.
She was a cook... and the first asymptomatic patient ever reported in the US for typhoid fever. And let me tell you: that woman sure as Hell's Kitchen didn't want to be put in quarantine.
Mallon left a trail of sick people everywhere she worked and was finally tracked down by Joe's colleague, George Soper.
Joe paid her a visit to try and collect some samples for testing but was (rather understandably) chased away. The next time she came, she was with 5 policemen.
Joe paid her a visit to try and collect some samples for testing but was (rather understandably) chased away. The next time she came, she was with 5 policemen.
Mary spent her first quarantine on North Brother Island and was set free after almost three years on the condition that she would stop working as a cook and take reasonable steps to avoid transmitting typhoid to others.
Guess what? She started cooking again
Under
fake names
Guess what? She started cooking again
Under
fake names
Mary's story and the ethical debate surrounding it are fascinating and I invite you to read more about her!
To my French-speaking followers, subscribe to our podcast for an upcoming episode on Mary Mallon
https://shows.acast.com/chasseurs-de-science/
(click on 'subscribe' to pick your favourite app)
To my French-speaking followers, subscribe to our podcast for an upcoming episode on Mary Mallon
https://shows.acast.com/chasseurs-de-science/
(click on 'subscribe' to pick your favourite app)
Now back to our dear Joe Baker.
With all the tremendous work she was accomplishing, she soon gained recognition and was asked to lecture on child hygiene at the New York University Medical School.
She said she would if they gave her a job.
With all the tremendous work she was accomplishing, she soon gained recognition and was asked to lecture on child hygiene at the New York University Medical School.
She said she would if they gave her a job.
And here, I'll just quote Wikipedia directly:
"The school initially turned her down, but eventually acquiesced after looking unsuccessfully for a male lecturer to match her knowledge."
And that's how, in 1917, she became the first woman to receive a doctorate in public health
"The school initially turned her down, but eventually acquiesced after looking unsuccessfully for a male lecturer to match her knowledge."
And that's how, in 1917, she became the first woman to receive a doctorate in public health
During WWI, Joe told the new York Times that it was "six times safer to be soldier in the trenches of France than to be a baby born in the United States."
This striking comment brought her so much publicity that she was able to start a lunch program for school children.
This striking comment brought her so much publicity that she was able to start a lunch program for school children.
She was then offered a job in London as health director of public schools, another in France taking care of war refugees, and one in the United States as Assistant Surgeon General.
Think we're done? Nope! There's still more coming up.
Think we're done? Nope! There's still more coming up.
Joe was also an outspoken feminist. After taking part in the suffrage movement, she joined Heterodoxy, an LGBT-friendly (well, at least L & B-friendly) women’s debating group.
Their ideas were so radical that they had to regularly change location to avoid government scrutiny.
Their ideas were so radical that they had to regularly change location to avoid government scrutiny.
Joe found a life companion in IRA Wylie (the world famous novelist, screenwriter, short story writer, poet and suffragette sympathiser; check her out), with whom she spent many years.
In 1935, they took a house in Princeton together with Louise Pearce (check her out as well!)
In 1935, they took a house in Princeton together with Louise Pearce (check her out as well!)
Joe Baker's contribution to public health and human rights is inestimable.
I first learned about her while reading on Mary Mallon and instantly fell in love with the vibrant personality that shines through every square inch of this photograph.
I first learned about her while reading on Mary Mallon and instantly fell in love with the vibrant personality that shines through every square inch of this photograph.
How is it that today we remember the moniker of Typhoid Mary much better than that of Dr. Joe?
I could'nt say. But I hope that, with this little thread, I will have in some modest way helped remember the person who helped stop the disease rather than the one who let it spread.
I could'nt say. But I hope that, with this little thread, I will have in some modest way helped remember the person who helped stop the disease rather than the one who let it spread.
For those of you who want to know more:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21548331.1995.11443260?journalCode=ihop20
Disclaimer: though Joe said she sometimes 'forgot she was a woman', I couldn't find a source stating she identified as queer or non binary, hence my use of the pronoun 'she'
Thank you for reading this thread!
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21548331.1995.11443260?journalCode=ihop20
Disclaimer: though Joe said she sometimes 'forgot she was a woman', I couldn't find a source stating she identified as queer or non binary, hence my use of the pronoun 'she'
Thank you for reading this thread!
