Marie J. Mergler

Marie J. Mergler (May 18, 1851 – May 18, 1901) was a 19th-century German-American physician, surgeon, and medical writer. She opened a general practice in Chicago in 1881, before specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology. She became a skilled gynecological surgeon, and in this field stood among those at the head of her profession in what was then considered to be the northwestern United States. She served her alma mater as lecturer, professor, secretary and Dean. She held several hospital positions as consultant or on the attending staff.

Mergler was connected with the Woman's Medical College of Chicago from the time of her graduation, and for many years, served as an executive officer of that institution, where she also occupied the chair of clinical and operative gynaecology. In 1899, Mergler was elected dean of the school, succeeding Isaac N. Danforth, resigned. In November 1895, she was elected head physician and surgeon to the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children, from which position she resigned two years later. She was the attending surgeon to the Woman's Hospital of Chicago for many years, and was also on the hospital staff of the Post-Graduate school, where she conducted a clinic in operative gynecology. Her great achievement was in assisting women to obtain the very best opportunities for a thorough medical education in the Woman's Medical College at Chicago.

Early life and education Skin grafting in a surgical clinic at Mary Thompson Hospital, Chicago. Marie J. Mergler, head physician and surgeon. (1897) Marie Josepha Mergler was born in Mainstockheim, Bavaria, on May 18, 1851. She was the youngest of three children. Her father, Francis R. Mergler, was a graduate of the University of Würzburg. Her mother, Henriette,

Later life and death Mergler became ill August 1900, recovered partly, but left for California in April 1901, for rest and restoration of health. Arriving at Los Angeles, she was slightly better, but died in that city at the age of fifty years of pernicious anemia, May 18, 1901. Her mother, living at Palatine, Illinois and two sisters, Ernestine Schell and Anna Fritsch, survived her. The memorial service was held in Union Park Congregational Church, of which Mergler had been a member for many years.