Alice Hamilton: Settlement Physician, Occupational Health Pioneer.

HAMILTON, Alice, 1869-1970; TOXICOLOGISTS; INDUSTRIAL toxicology; FOREIGN workers; COLLEGE teachers; UNIVERSITIES & colleges; OCCUPATIONAL medicine

CHICAGO (Ill.); ILLINOIS

This article profiles Alice Hamilton, best known as the pioneering industrial toxicologist in the U.S. Hamilton received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Michigan in 1893, studied in Germany and at Johns Hopkins University, then moved to Hull House in Chicago, Illinois in 1897 when she was offered a teaching position at the Women's Medical School of Northwestern University. Hamilton began to develop a deep trust in and respect for the views of immigrant working people. When Hamilton started taking up occupational diseases, her habit of listening attentively proved crucial. In 1919, Hamilton was appointed as assistant professor at Harvard Medical School as a result of her reputation as an authority in the field of occupational medicine.