Esther Pohl Lovejoy

Esther Pohl Lovejoy ( Clayson; November 16, 1869 – August 31, 1967) was an American physician and public health pioneer, suffrage activist, congressional candidate, and a central figure in early efforts to organize international medical relief work. In 1907, Lovejoy became the first woman appointed to direct a department of health in a major U.S city: the Board of Health in Portland, Oregon. Lovejoy worked on the women's suffrage campaigns in Oregon in 1906 and 1912, and founded the Everybody's Equal Suffrage League ahead of the 1912 election, Lovejoy ran for the U.S. Congress in 1920 as the Democratic candidate for Portland’s Third District but was not successful against the sitting Republican. The installation ceremony included costumed portrayals of the four suffragists and was attended by Barbara Roberts, a former Oregon governor. This event took place as part of the Century of Action Committee's year-long celebration of 100 years of suffrage for women in Oregon and as part of their efforts to call attention to remaining voting barriers for minorities.

Personal life Esther Pohl Lovejoy was born Esther Clayson in a lumber camp near Seabeck, Washington, in 1869.

Before graduating medical school on April 2, 1894, Esther became engaged to her classmate Emil Pohl.

To honor her brother, Esther and Emil named their son Freddie, who was born in 1901, and Edward named his son Frederick H Clayson. After drinking contaminated milk and suffering from Septic Peritonitis, Freddie died in 1908 at 7 years of age. Following her son's death, Esther opened another private practice in Portland then pursued further training in Berlin in 1909. Her husband Emil stayed in Alaska for work, where he died in 1911 during an encephalitis epidemic.

Work outside of Oregon

Alaska A photograph of Esther Pohl Lovejoy and Emil Pohl in Alaska. Lovejoy's husband, Emil, and her brother, Fredrick Clayson, sailed to Alaska on July 30, 1897 to follow the discovery of gold. They were passengers on the George W. Elder, the first Portland ship that sailed to the Klondike region. The rest of Esther's family, consisting of her mother and three other siblings, followed in the coming year. After concluding her post graduate studies in Chicago in the spring of 1898, Esther also made the move to Alaska. She also authored a report that discusses impure milk and its effects on health and infant mortality, in addition to several other documents.

Running for Congress Upon returning to Portland in 1920, Lovejoy decided to run for Congress as a progressive candidate against Clifton McArthur, the Republican incumbent. This was also the year that the 19th amendment to the US constitution, also known as the National suffrage amendment, was ratified. The first Red Scare was also rampant across the nation, causing the public to accuse Lovejoy of believing in Communism and supporting the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution. Lovejoy was still able to win 44 percent of the vote. Women Doctors of the World, published in 1957. Certain Samaritans, published in 1927, which outlined the many accomplishments of the AWH in Europe and abroad.