Rebecca J. Cole was an American physician.
Background
Cole was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and would overcome racial and gender barriers to medical education by training in all-female institutions run by women who had been part of the first generation of female physicians graduating mid-century.
Education
Cole attended the Institute for Colored Youth, graduating in 1863.
Career
Cole was the 2nd out of five children. She then went on to graduate from the Woman"s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1867, under the supervision of Ann Preston. Her graduate medical thesis was titled The Eye and Its Appendages.
In New York, Cole was assigned the task of going into tenements to teach prenatal care and hygiene to women.
The annual report for that year stated that she possessed "all the qualities essential to such a position-ability, energy, experience, tact." A subsequent report noted that:
Doctor Cole herself has more than fulfilled the expectations of her friends. Although Cole practiced medicine for fifty years, few records survive, and only two photos remain.
Membership
With a clear and comprehensive view of her whole field of action, she has carried out her plans with the good sense and vigor which are a part of her character, while her cheerful optimism, her determination to see the best in every situation and in every individual, have created around her an atmosphere of sunshine that adds to the happiness and well being of every member of the large family.