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Country's First Female to Earn Dental Degree
Established Her Practice in McGregor
Dr. Lucy Beeman Hobbs Taylor
Gaining admission into dental school is difficult. Imagine applying as a female in the middle of the 19th Century.
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Despite the Ohio College of Dental Surgery initially denying access to Lucy Beeman Hobbs, the New York native became the first woman in the United States to earn a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1866. To put her accomplishment into perspective, women didn’t earn the right to vote until 1920.
“Dr. Lucy,” as her patients affectionally called her, paved the way to dentistry at a time when most women either worked in family businesses or as teachers, seamstresses or maids. Born in 1833, she was determined “to enter a profession where she could earn her bread not alone by the sweat of her brow, but by the use of her brains also.”
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By 1900, nearly 1,000 women had followed in Dr. Lucy into dentistry.
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No women allowed
Dr. Lucy had always wanted to become a doctor. During her 10-year teaching career in Michigan, she devoured medical books and periodicals. They further fueled her desire to practice medicine.
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In 1859, Dr. Lucy moved to Cincinnati with the hope of attending the country’s only medical school that accepted women. After applying and being denied, she learned the school had reversed its policy to admit female students.
Undeterred, Dr. Lucy found a professor who agreed to tutor her in medicine; ultimately, he encouraged her to pursue dentistry.
To her credit, the dean of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery took her on as a private student and set up an apprenticeship with an alumnus. Even then, Ohio College rejected her admission.
Lucy Hobbs Taylor,
Kansas Historical Society
Paving her own way
When Dr. Lucy learned Ohio College wouldn’t permit her to enter its program in 1861, she set out on her own. In that era, individuals could practice dentistry without a license. She moved to McGregor, Iowa, where she practiced dentistry from 1862-1865.
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Her dental practice earned respect and became profitable within 3 years. In 1865, the Iowa Dental Society admitted her. The Iowa Dental Society's invitation influenced Ohio College’s decision to ultimately admit her into its program. In recognition of her years of experience, Ohio College only required her to attend one session. She graduated in 1866.
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Dr. Lucy left McGregor and moved to Chicago where she opened a practice. She married James M. Taylor, a Civil War veteran, in 1867. She taught her husband dentistry and they eventually established a practice in Lawrence, Kansas.
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Dr. Lucy practiced dentistry and campaigned for women’s rights until her death in 1910.​
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SOURCES: Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry; Kansas Historical Society
Lucy Hobbs Taylor’s influence and legacy continues
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Benco Dental’s Lucy Hobbs Project celebrates women in dentistry for innovation, mentorship, and service.
Two national awards bear her name:
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The American Association of Women Dentists has presented its highest honor in her memory each year since 1983.