Mary Corinna Putnam (August 31, 1842 – June 10, 1906) was an American physician, writer, and suffragist who was the first woman to become a member of the Academy of Medicine. The daughter of George Palmer Putnam and Victorine Haven Putnam, she was born in London, UK where her father had been living since 1841 while establishing a branch office for his New York City publishing company, Wiley & Putnam. Mary Putnam's parents returned to the United States in 1848 and she spent her childhood and adolescence in New York city. She graduated from the New York College of Pharmacy in 1863 and with her M.D. from the Female (later Women's) Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1864. She did further studies in Paris, France where she applied and was admitted to the "École de Médecine." After returning to the United States, she set up a medical practice in New York City. In 1872 she organized the Association for the Advancement of the Medical Education of Women, serving as its president from 1874 to 1903. In 1873, Mary Putnam married Dr. Abraham Jacobi who is often referred to as the "father of American pediatrics." She died in New York city in 1906, considered the foremost female physician of her era.
