The latest Google Doodle celebrates the 153rd birthday of Anandi Gopal Joshi, India’s first female doctor.
Born at a time when most women in her country did not receive an education, she set sail for America at the age of 18 to study medicine.
She graduated from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1885, becoming the first Indian women to obtain a degree in western medicine.
Although she died young, her determination to challenge gender stereotypes and cultural customs blazed a trail for generations to come.
Here are five things you should know about the pioneering medic.
She was motivated to study medicine by her baby’s death
Joshi was married at the age of just nine, as was common in 19th century India, to a man 20 years older than her.
She gave birth to their first child when she was 14, but her baby son died 10 days later due to a lack of medical care for women. This spurred Joshi to pursue an interest in medicine so she could “help the many who cannot help themselves”, as she later put it in her college application.
Her husband Gopalrao Joshi, a postal clerk, encouraged her ambition and helped to teach her to read and write.
She defied cultural expectations and ill health to qualify as a doctor
While she was supported by her husband, Joshi’s ambitions were condemned by the orthodox Hindu community, who threatened her with excommunication.
Despite that, she travelled to New York in 1883, chaperoned by two English acquaintances of a doctor friend. After arriving in America, she wrote to the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania to ask for a place on their medical programme, one of the first in the world that accepted women. In her application she admitted her credentials may fall below the college’s usual requirements but pleaded for them to make an exception “to render to my poor suffering country women the true medical aid they so sadly stand in need”.
She was awarded a place, and studied her two-year diploma alongside two of the first female medical students from Japan and Syria. Despite suffering ill health throughout her studies, she graduated on 11 March, 1885.
She was congratulated by Queen Victoria
After Joshi was awarded her degree in medicine, the college’s dean wrote of her achievement to Queen Victoria, who was also Empress of India. Victoria reportedly wrote a congratulatory message in response. Joshi received a grand welcome upon her return to India, where the editor of the Kesari newspaper hailed her as ”one of the greatest women of our modern era”.
Her life was tragically cut short
Returning to India in 1886, Joshi was appointed the physician in charge of the women’s ward at Albert Edward Hospital in Kolhapur. She dreamed of opening a medical college for women, but was an ambition she never got to realise. She died of tuberculosis on 26 February, 1887, before she had even begun practising medicine. She was just 21.
There is a crater in Venus named after her
Joshi is one of a number of notable women who have lent their names to sizeable impact craters on Venus. The 34km diameter crater “Joshee” lies at latitude 5.5° N and longitude 288.8° E. It was named in 1997 by the International Astronomical Union.
Anandi Gopal Joshi, considered by some as India's first female doctor, was one of the earliest female physicians in India. Anandi Gopal Joshi, who also goes by the names 'Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi' and 'Anandibai Joshi', celebrates her 153rd birthday today. Anandi Gopal Joshi was born in Kalyan in present day Maharashtra's Thane district on March 31, 1865. At the time of her birth, present day Maharashtra was called Bombay Presidency. Anandi Joshi was originally named 'Yamuna', and kept that name till her marriage, after which, her husband - Gopalrao Joshi - gave her the name 'Anandi'. Anandi Gopal Joshi 's family had been landlords for many years during the British Raj, but due to excessive taxes by the British, as well as losses that had accumulated over the years, her family underwent a troublesome financial period when Yanuma (Anandi Gopal Joshi) was still very young. As was custom during the mid-nineteenth century, Yamuna (Anandi Gopal Joshi) was pressured to marry at a very young age - nine. She married Gopalrao Joshi, a widower who was nearly 30 years old at the time. He was a postal clerk in the same town where Yamuna (Anandi Gopal Joshi) used to live.Though he had married a child, a criminal offence in today's day and age but not considered so in the mid-nineteenth century, Gopalrao Joshi was a strong supporter of women's education. Since this was considered unusual for the time, he was considered a progressive thinker.Anandi Gopal Joshi was fourteen when she first became a mother, but her baby died in ten days due to lack of medical care and facilities. Facing such immense trauma and sadness at fourteen, she decided to do something about healthcare in India. She told her husband that she was determined to become a doctor - a physician. He supported her decision and backed her entirely to study medicine.Anandi's husband wrote a letter to an American missionary requesting if Anandi Joshi could pursue her education in the United States. He even inquired about a suitable job for himself so that he could accompany her. But in 1883, when Gopalrao Joshi was transferred to Serampore in present day West Bengal (Bengal province at the time), he decided and convinced Anandi to go to the United States by herself. He told her to set an example for all other women in India to pursue their higher education.Anandi Gopal Joshi applied to the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and was granted admission. She traveled to from Calcutta (present day Kolkata) to New York by ship. She began her medical training at the age of nineteen. While in America, her health, which was already not a hundred per cent from her days in India, further deteriorated due to the cold weather and unfamiliar diet. She even went on to suffer tuberculosis or TB. Despite all that, she stayed motivated to complete her MD in medicine. Her journey had been so inspiring that she got much publicity in the Indian press, and on her graduation, the then Queen of England, Empress of India, Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message. She had become the first woman of Indian origin to study and graduate with a degree in medicine in the United States. Anandi Gopal Joshi went on to inspire generations of women to pursue their higher education.When she returned to India in 1886, she received a grand welcome, and was appointed as the physician-in-charge at the Albert Edward Hospital in the then princely state of Kohlapur (in present day Maharashtra).On February 26, 1887, just over a month before her 22nd birthday, Anandi Gopal Joshi died of tuberculosis or TB. Her dream of opening her own medical college for women was left unfulfilled. Her death made headlines across India and the entire nation mourned her passing. As a mark of respect, her ashes were placed in a cemetery in Poughkeepsie in New York. In her honour, the Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences or IRDS, an NGO from Lucknow, still awards the 'Anandibai Joshi Award for Medicine' in honour of her early contributions to the cause of advancing medical science in India. Even the Government of Maharashtra established a fellowship in Anandi Gopal Joshi's name.Today, on her 153rd birth anniversary, Google dedicated the day's ' Google Doodle ' in Anandi Gopal Joshi's honour.
Today’s Google Doodle marks the 153rd birthday of Anandi Gopal Joshi, and has been designed by Bengaluru-based artist Kashmira Sarode. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Today’s Google Doodle marks the 153rd birthday of Anandi Gopal Joshi, and has been designed by Bengaluru-based artist Kashmira Sarode. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Google celebrated the 153rd birth anniversary of Anandi Gopal Joshi, India’s first female doctor, on Saturday. Joshi was born on this day in Maharashtra in 1865. In the doodle, she is seen holding a degree and wearing a stethoscope around her neck. This comes around five months after the Google Doodle team honoured Rukhmabai Raut, hailed as one of the first female practising doctors in British India.
According to her bio, Joshi came back to India in 1886 with a doctor’s degree at the inspiring young age of just 19 years. Joshi’s life story — as short as it was — was one of courage and perseverance. Born as Yamuna in Maharashtra, she was married at the age of nine to a widower, Gopalrao Joshi, 20 years her senior, who named her Anandi. A progressive thinker, Gopalrao encouraged his young wife to study.
Read | How Anandi Joshi obtained a degree in Western medicine from Pennsylvania college
At the age of 14, Anandi Joshi gave birth to a boy, but he soon died because of lack of proper medical care. This was said to have been a turning point for the grieving mother, who developed an interest in medicine. Gopalrao encouraged her to pursue this study, and even sent her to America at 16. She earned her degree at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (now known as Drexel University College of Medicine) and returned to India with dreams of opening a medical college for women.
Unfortunately, young Joshi did not keep too well, and she died just short of 22 years due to tuberculosis on February 26, 1887. Though Joshi could not execute her dream of opening a medical college for women, she did inspire subsequent generations of girls to fight for and follow their dreams.
“Her legacy and the path she paved for generations of women continues today,” Google writes about Anandi Gopal Joshi, in its blog. “Her legacy and the path she paved for generations of women continues today,” Google writes about Anandi Gopal Joshi, in its blog.
Interestingly, there’s a crater on Venus named after her.
Read | Who is Anandi Gopal Joshi?
According to the Google Doodle brief, her tribute doodle has been designed by Bengaluru-based artist Kashmira Sarode, who has imagined Joshi celebrating her degree. Here’s a look at the design concept in-the-making:
Here are some old photos of Anandibai Joshi, as she has been popularly known.
A portrait photo of Dr Anandibai Joshi, MD, Class of 1886, Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) A portrait photo of Dr Anandibai Joshi, MD, Class of 1886, Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
A photo of Anandi Gopal Joshi with her signature on it. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) A photo of Anandi Gopal Joshi with her signature on it. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Anandibai Joshi graduated from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMC) in 1886. Seen here with Kei Okami (center) and Tabat Islambooly (right). All three completed their medical studies and each of them was the first woman from their respective countries to obtain a degree in Western medicine. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Anandibai Joshi graduated from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMC) in 1886. Seen here with Kei Okami (center) and Tabat Islambooly (right). All three completed their medical studies and each of them was the first woman from their respective countries to obtain a degree in Western medicine. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Interestingly, though the doodle’s reach has been marked way beyond just India — it includes Canada, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Iceland, the UK, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Australia and New Zealand — the United States is conspicuously missing, since that was where she earned her degree.
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