Career
She was known as a pioneer in her time because women were largely excluded from medical training and employment. Despite restricted access, Ritter built a successful private practice. She also advocated for women in medical professional, training for nurses, and sanitation standards in hospitals and doctor"s offices.
In 1933, she published her autobiography, which is entitled More Than Gold in California.
Ritter was born in Salinas, California. She was the daughter of a farmers, William Bennett and Abigail Noble Bennett, who did not support her ambition to become a doctor.
Before entering medical school, Ritter earned an independent income, which she saved to pay for educational expenses. In 1886, she earned her medical degree from Cooper Medical College in San Francisco, which is now Stanford School of Medicine.
She remained in the Bay area and built a successful personal practice for 20 years.
She treated both rich and poor on a sliding scale and was known to provide free services for those most in need. In addition to her medical practice, Ritter was also a advocate. In 1891, she worked with women University of California medical students, with funding from Pheobe Hearst, the only women on the University of California board of regents, in order to build a gymnasium for women students.
She also advocated for better housing for women students.
In 1935, University of California Berkeley awarded Ritter an honorary Doctor of Philosophy for her work as an unofficial first dean of women. In Louisiana Jolla, Ritter continued her advocacy work and gave many lectures about public health issues as well as women and infant care.
Mary Bennett Ritter wrote an autobiography called, More than Gold in California, detailing her work as a physician, her work as a women"s advocate, and her role as a partner in her husband"s biological projects. Ritter died in Mountain View, California.