Stuff You Missed in History Class SYMHC Classics: Dr. Lucy Hobbs Taylor
Mar 14, 2026
A pioneering 19th century woman fights for a place in dentistry after being barred from medical school. She endures apprenticeship rejections, opens a wartime practice, and earns a dental degree. The story follows her professional innovations, marriage and joint practice, civic involvement, and the legacy of being the first woman granted a dental diploma.
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From Rejected Medical Student To Self Taught Dentist
- Lucy Hobbs pivoted from aspiring physician to dentist after being refused admission to Eclectic Medical Institute and encouraged by its president to try dentistry.
- She apprenticed unpaid with Dr. Samuel Wardle while sewing at night to support herself before opening her own practice on her 28th birthday.
Degree Came After Proven Practice
- Lucy opened a practice before having a degree, then was later admitted as a senior to Ohio College of Dental Surgery and granted credit for years of practice.
- She received her DDS on February 21, 1866, making her the first woman to earn a dental degree in the U.S.
Patient Test Backfires On Skeptic
- In McGregor, a man tested Lucy by asking for an exam on healthy teeth; she bored a hole and filled it with gold, charging him the usual price.
- The stunt proved her skill to skeptics but reads as a dramatic demonstration of earned authority.