Newcomm McGee, Anita

Young years, education, beginning of scientific work

Anita Rosalie Newcomb was born on November 4, 1864 in Washington, DC ^{[1] [2] [3]} . She came from a family of mixed English , Scottish , Irish , French and Germanic descent ^[4] . Father - Simon Newcomb (b. 1835), son of a school teacher from Nova Scotia , graduated from Harvard University and later became a famous astronomer and mathematician ^{[5] [6] [3]} . Mother - Mary Caroline, nee Hassler (b. 1840), grew up in an intellectual environment, being the granddaughter of , founder and first superintendent of the ^{[5] [6] [3]} . They were married on August 4, 1863 in Washington, and the following year Simon received American citizenship ^{[5] [7] [8]} . Newcoms had three daughters ^[3] : Anita (born 1864, the eldest), Emily Keith (born 1869), Anna Joseph (born 1871) ^{[9] [8] [10]} . The only son, William Bartlett Newcomb, died in 1867 shortly after birth ^{[11] [12]} .

Anita grew up in the intellectual environment, encouraged to engage in various academic subjects ^[13] . She studied under the supervision of parents and relatives, and also received her education in private schools in Washington ^{[14] [3] [13]} . In 1882, Anita, along with her sisters and mother, went to Europe and spent the next three years traveling. ^{[14] [3]} Being engaged in physiography , she graduated from in Cambridge ( England ) in 1884, and then from the University of Geneva ( Switzerland ), where she studied German literature , European history , German and French ^{[15] [3] [14]} . With a keen interest in scientific disciplines and a desire for an intellectual challenge that grew ever more after returning from school from Europe, Newcomb focused mainly on genealogy , anthropology and history , wrote a lot on these topics, published in “ ” ^{[16] [3]} . At one time, she carefully studied the genealogical study of the descendants of John Bull, a member of the American Revolution and her distant ancestor on the maternal line ^{[17] [3]} .

The group of “women intellectuals” who surrounded Newcomb at that time in 1885 formed an organization called the Women's Anthropological Society of America ^[3] . In 1889 she became a member of this society, and then his secretary ^{[18] [3]} . In the same year, at a congress of society, Newcom presented a report in which she described the evolution of the shaker community and, in her own words, “traced the development of a religious organization from its origin in Germany at different stages to its current state as the most successful communist organization in America” ^{[19 ]} . The publication of this study brought her great fame ^[3] . In addition, Newcomb was studying similar “communist” colonies of Onaid , , , , Topolobampo , the communities of and ^{[20] [21] [6]} .

Marriage, Continuing Education, Medicine Occupation

February 14, 1888, on Valentine's Day , Anita Newcombe married in Washington, DC, to Dr. ^{[1] [2] [3]} . He was eleven years older than her. ^[10] McGhee's couple had three children: Cloto (b. 1889), Donald (b. 1895; died of meningitis , after 9 months, in 1896), Eric (b. 1902) ^{[11] [12] [3] [10]} . William was a geologist and head of the sub- Atlantic lowland division of the US Geological Survey , then he was interested in and engaged in geological research by Anita, and then supported her in his intention to continue his studies ^{[13] [3]} . In 1892, Newcombe McGee graduated from Columbia University (now George Washington University ) in Washington, DC with a doctorate in medicine ^{[15] [13] [3] [10] [22]} . In the same year, the school canceled and decided to no longer accept women to study, which deeply shocked her ^[16] . Subsequently, Newcombe McGee completed postgraduate training in gynecology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore , Maryland ^{[13] [3] [10] [23]} .

For the next four years, Newcomer McGee practiced private medical practice in Washington ^[3] and was one of the few women in this capacity ^[24] . After her son died in 1896, she left private practice and went to work at the Women's Dispensary in Washington, DC - an institution that provided free medical services for women and children ^{[10] [13] [3]} . Subsequently, Newcombe McGee returned to her first passion, the original research ^{[23] [3]} . She joined the American Association for the Advancement of Science , and in 1894 she became one of its secretaries ^{[1] [13]} . Newcombe McGee was also a member of the National Geographic Society , the Washington Anthropological Society , the Medical Association and the District of Columbia ^[1] . She was also a member of the “ ” (DAR) society, where she occupied the positions of chief surgeon, chief librarian, vice president and, later, chief historian ^{[3] [13]} during the period 1894–98. With a high social position and organizational talent ^[13] , Newcomm McGee began to fight gender discrimination in medicine ^[16] . While war between the USA and Spain was gradually brewing, she decided to take up professional nursing work , which was the fruit of Newcomm McGee's long-standing and unchanged conviction that women have unrecognized and often unrealized intellectual potential ^[3] .

Hispanic-American War

Long before the war with Spain , in 1885, the Brigadier General noted the growing need for civilian nurses and suggested reforming the - the result was the establishment of the Hospital Corps of military doctors by decision Congress of March 1, 1887 ^{[25] [26]} . After the outbreak of hostilities in April 1898, the army continued to believe that this hospital building would satisfy all needs ^[3] . At the same time, even before the official declaration of war, letters from hundreds of women began to arrive in the army and navy who wanted to enroll in the nursing service ^{[16] [3]} . Shortly after the with due diligence, Dr. Newcombe McGee suggested that DAR create its own Hospital Corps as an organization of qualified nurses who are ready to respond to the call of their country from the Civil War for the first time since the Civil War , since Dorothea Dix and ^{[27] [16] [3]} . After receiving approval from the DAR Board of Directors, on April 28, Newcc McGee contacted the Chief Surgeon, Brigadier General , whose wife was also a member of DAR ^{[28] [16] [3]} . As the country's leading bacteriologist , Sternberg foresaw the future need for a large number of staff in hospitals and appealed to Congress, where he received authority for an additional set of nurses ^[16] . Meanwhile, the need for medical services has increased dramatically after the onset of yellow fever and typhoid fever epidemics in hastily constructed training camps and military bases ^{[3] [16]} . Newcombe McGee became the director of the DAR Hospital Corps, headquartered in Washington, whose scope of work included the review of applications, the selection of applicants, the training and the formation of groups of trained nurses ^{[3] [16]} . On August 29, 1898, Sternberg appointed her to the position of Acting Chief Surgeon of the US Army, making her responsible for the formation ^{[29] [30] [6] [31] [3]} . Along with his post, Newcomer McGee was elevated to the rank of with the right to wear shoulder straps and officer uniforms ^{[32] [33]} . At that time, she became the only woman who took such a post in the Army in the entire and wore an officer's uniform in accordance with her rank ^{[13] [3] [16]} .

After the chief surgeon instructed to prepare the first group of 30 nurses, twenty-three women recognized as qualified and ready for service were immediately sent to Puerto Rico ^[3] . The selection standards were high and fairly stringent ^{[27] [16]} : Newcombe McGee insisted on accepting candidates who were 30-50 years old and graduated from special nursing schools who had good knowledge and had experience in hospitals, and standard for safe and qualified nursing practice ^{[27] [6] [3] [16]} . Two weeks later, by September 15, there were already 1,200 nurses in the army units, but the demand for them remained huge due to the ongoing epidemics ^{[31] [3] [16]} . Meanwhile, Dr. Newcomb McGee and DAR were not the only source for providing the army with medical sisters ^[3] . A total of 18 organizations offered their help, including sister and charitable societies and even religious orders such as the Sisters of Charity and the ^{[27] [34]} . Among them was , a professional organization in the field of nursing ^[3] . The chief surgeon received the Association’s proposal after accepting the DAR proposal, and since the American Red Cross was experiencing organizational problems, he also did not dare to accept his help, but eventually both of these organizations were involved in the process of nursing training ^{[27] [3]} . At the same time, Newcomb McGee expected all the nurses to meet the criteria she had set, but eventually she refused to hire them, thus coming into conflict with the president of the Alumni Association, , which ended only a few decades after her death ^{[35] [34] itself} .

The volunteer organization DAR provided great and major assistance in examining thousands of nursing candidates until the chief surgeon transferred these functions to the military ministry in September 1898 ^{[3] [36]} . On November 7, 1898, the chief surgeon issued the first rules regarding the Nursing Corps, but their implementation slowed down due to post-war difficulties in the military departments ^[3] . The army decided to institutionalize the Corps and make it a military unit on a permanent basis, which required the intervention of Congress ^{[16] [3]} . The corresponding was prepared by professional nursing organizations and was well thought out, but in some areas it was rather controversial: for example, its provisions did not set minimum limits for the number of Corps personnel in peacetime, and the agreed funding would create big administrative problems. as most contract nurses would be on the responsibility of the army, and the rest of the work would have to be paid from other sources — private individuals and voluntary organizations. anizatsy such as "GIFT" and Red Cross ^{[30] [3] [16]} . Dr. Newcomb McGee called such a law “sabotage” and objected to its adoption, including because of the indications contained in it that the Corps would not be under the jurisdiction of the , but would be an autonomous nursing organization headed by the Superintendent which would be chosen from among the trained nurses ^[3] . Following the request of the chief surgeon Sternberg, she personally prepared the 19th section of the bill on the reorganization of the army, making amendments to it, providing that the superintendent will be appointed from among graduates of sister schools ^{[30] [3] [23] [16]} . Choosing the successor to her deputy, , Dr. Newcombe McGee resigned on December 31, 1900, when passing the bill through Congress became a decided matter ^{[37] [3] [23] [10]} . On February 2, 1901, the Army Reorganization Bill was approved by Congress and on the same day was signed by President William McKinley , who thus established the Nursing Corps as part of the US Army ^{[6] [3] [38]} . So, Newcombe McGee became known as the founder of the Nursing Corps ^{[30] [24]} . After that, female nurses were sent to hospitals in Cuba , Puerto Rico , Hawaii and the Philippines , and in 1900-1901 were attracted to provide medical assistance during the " boxing uprising " in China ^{[6] [16]} .

After leaving public office, Newcomb McGhee continued to fight for the rights and privileges of female nurses who served under the contract in the Spanish-American War and, as a result, found themselves without veteran preferences, including pensions, disability payments, and preferential medical care ^[3] . To achieve these goals, in 1898 she founded the Society of Hispanic-American Military Nurses, in which she held the presidency for six years ^{[4] [3] [16] [24]} . This activity was crowned with success only in 1924, when an amendment to the World War II Veterans Act secured the status of veterans entitled to privileges for nurses ^{[37] [34]} .

Russo-Japanese War

In October 1903, shortly before the start of the Russian-Japanese war , Newcomm McGee offered her organization’s assistance , but received a polite refusal with the words that Japan seeks peace ^{[39] 40] [41]} . After Japan declared war, in February 1904, Japanese Foreign Minister officially invited Newcomm McGhee along with nine of her fellow nurses to Japan to raise the spirit of members of the Japanese Red Cross ^{[16] [41]} . Her team included veterans of the Spanish war: Minnie Cook, Mary Gladwin, Alice Kemmer, Ella King, Elizabeth Kratz, Adelaide McCaret, Adel Nieb, Sophia Newell, and Genevieve Russell ^{[42] [16]} . On March 24, they sailed on the Shawmut steamer from Tacoma , Washington , and three weeks later, on April 21, arrived in Yokohama , and then traveled by train to Tokyo ^{[41] [42] [16]} .

As volunteers, the nurses were greeted with due honor and respect as guests of the Japanese nation ^[43] . For the next six months, from May to October, they worked in the military hospital in Hiroshima , in the hospital for Russian prisoners of war in Matsuyama , in the naval hospital in Kure , and also in field hospitals in some regions of Korea and Manchuria , inspected the hospital ships ”and“ Kosai-maru ”, transporting the wounded to Japan ^{[44] [4] [41] [42] [3]} . The sister team under the command of Newcomb McGee took the wounded from both sides after the battles on the Yalu River , in Port Arthur , under Liaoyan ^[41] .

On October 21, Newcombe McGhee sailed on a military transport from Nagasaki to San Francisco , where she was appointed during the US mission in Tokyo , and arrived back to Japan on December 7, being attached to headquarters 2 Army under the command of General Yasukaty Oku ^{[41] [3]} . She witnessed a battle on the river Shah and in Mukden ^[41] . The Japanese Minister of War conferred on Dr. Newcombe McGee the title of “chief of nurses,” endowing her with the title equal to the rank of officer of the Japanese army ^{[13] [3]} . In Japan, she stayed until the end of the war in September 1905 ^[41] .

Follow up

After returning to the US, Newcomb McGee became interested in eugenics and lectured on various subjects, including on women's status and hygiene at the University of California ^{[3] [13]} . She also spoke about the experiences of the Russo-Japanese War ^[39] . At the same time, William McGee worked at the Bureau of American Ethnology , where he headed the department of anthropology, then he was director of the St. Louis Public Museum, and in 1907 became the vice-chairman and secretary in Washington ^[3] . Most of the time Newcomer McGee lived with her daughter in , Massachusetts , North , North Carolina , and also in California ^{[4] [3]} .

Newcomb McGee's father died in 1909, and in 1912 his husband also died of prostate cancer ^{[4] [3]} . Meanwhile, Clotho's daughter was raised by a private nurse, in 1915, she married David Madison Willis, bore him two children, and settled with her family in San Francisco ^[3] . After this, Newcomb McGee focused entirely on the education of his 10-year-old son Eric, who studied in private schools ^{[4] [34] [3]} . She corresponded with school principals and professors about the not very successful study of his son, who sincerely loved her and tried to study harder and better ^[3] . However, in 1930 he died at the age of 28 as a result of an accident ^{[4] [3]} . Newcomm McGee never recovered from his death ^[45] .

In 1938, Newcombe McGee moved to in Washington, DC, where she was diagnosed with atherosclerosis ^{[4] [18]} . There she died on October 5, 1940, at the age of 75 years after suffering a brain hemorrhage 12 days earlier ^{[4] [22] [3]} . She was buried with full military honors next to her relatives at Arlington National Cemetery ^{[22] [10] [46] [47]} . She managed to donate her archive to the Library of Congress ^[48] .

For service during the Spanish-American War, Newcomb McGee was awarded the ^[3] . In 1904, she was awarded the Order of the Precious Crown by the Japanese Emperor Meiji ^{[41] [3]} . Newcombe McGee was also awarded the Japanese Red Cross medal and two Russian-Japanese war medals from the Japanese government ^{[34] [3]} . In 1939, at the suggestion of Secretary of War Harry Wudring, she was awarded a special gold medal by the US Congress "in recognition of her service to the United States to organize a corps of trained nurses for the United States Army during the Spanish-American war and the Philippine uprising", instead of the Congress Gold Medal , which she was not entitled to because she was not on active military service ^{[49] [50] [34]} .

On February 2, 1967, on the day of the formation of the Nursing Corps, a prize was given in the name of Dr. Anita Newc McGee, which is awarded to the best nurses of the US Army ^{[51] [34]} . The first winner of the award was Captain Linda Ann Bowman ^[51] .

• Anita Newcomb McGhee (Neopr.) . Find a grave .