Anita Newcomb McGee

Anita Rosalie Newcomb McGee (born: Anita Rosalie Newcomb) (November 4, 1864 – October 5, 1940) was an American physician who is remembered for her work with the United States military.

Early life and education Anita Newcomb was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of astronomer Simon Newcomb, a Steeves descendant. She married geologist and anthropologist W.J. McGee in 1888. Their oldest child, a daughter named Klotho, was born in 1889 and was primarily raised by a private nurse. Her second child, Donald died of meningitis at 9 months. Her youngest child, Eric Newcomb, was born in 1902.

Her sister, Josepha Newcomb Whitney studied at the Art Students' League in New York. She was known for her landscapes. She was active in the suffrage movement. She was chair of the Connecticut Women's Peace Party and President of the New Haven League of Women Voters. In 1912, she organized the first Cornwall meeting in support of voting rights for women.

McGee attended a private school in DC, graduating in 1882. She then traveled for three years, attending courses Newnham College, Cambridge England, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

McGee received her medical degree from Columbian College (present-day George Washington University) in 1892. Dr. McGee won the first prize in dermatology and stood second in clinical medicine at her examination. She also had connections with the military through her father, who held the rank of rear admiral.

As founder and Director of the DAR Hospital Corps, she trained volunteer nurses for army and navy service after the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898.

McGee's organizing ability led to her appointment as the only woman Acting Assistant Surgeon in the United States Army on August 29, 1898, and she was placed in charge of the Army's nurses under the Army Surgeon General's Department. Miss Klotho McGee stands next to the Spanish American War Nurses Memorial after its unveiling in May 1905.

With the start of the Russo-Japanese War, McGee led a group of nine volunteer nurses to Japan, arriving in Yokohama in April 1904, and establishing a field hospital for the Imperial Japanese Army.

Memberships McGee was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Spanish War Veterans. She was the founder of the Society of Spanish–American War Nurses.

Awards McGee received the Spanish War Service Medal from the U.S. Army for her services during the Spanish–American War. For her work in Japan, she was awarded the Japanese Imperial Order of the Precious Crown, the Silver Special Member's Badge of the Japanese Red Cross and two Russo-Japanese War medals from the Japanese government.