Mary Phylinda Dole

Mary Phylinda Dole (August 31, 1862 – February 23, 1947) was an American physician who practiced medicine in New England and was the first to earn a bachelor's degree at Mount Holyoke College. She is thought to be the first female physician to have practiced at Franklin County Public Hospital, now known as Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

Early life and education Mary Phylinda Dole was born in 1862 to George Carpenter Dole, a farmer, and Philinda Field Dole in Shelburne, Massachusetts. After the deaths of both parents, in 1871 she moved to live with a relative in Ashfield, Massachusetts, where she attended a local school and then Sanderson Academy. her mentor Cornelia Clapp, and Elizabeth Blackwell. At that time, she opened a private practice in the Hovey House, which is now the Greenfield Public Library in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Dole supported Mount Holyoke College as a trustee from 1901 to 1907, and remained involved in the college community for many years. She began a secondary career in hand-weaving, and became successful in this field as well. Dole used the funds obtained from selling her work to create a fellowship to support the education of female medical students at Mount Holyoke. Funds for the scholarship were also provided by the sale of her autobiography.

Honors In 1902, Dole was elected as a member of the Franklin District Medical Society.

She was President of the Mount Holyoke Club of Franklin County and Honorary President of the Mount Holyoke Club of New Haven

In 1937, she became one of the fourteen first recipients of Mount Holyoke College's Medal of Honor for her service to the college as an alumna. Autobiography She privately published her autobiography, A Doctor in Homespun, in 1941.