Caroline M. McGill

Dr. Caroline M. McGill (1879–1959) was a co-founder of the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, the first pathologist for state of Montana and the first successful female doctor in Butte, Montana.^[1][2]

Early life

Caroline M. McGill was born on a farm in Ohio and was one of five children. Her father was a farmer and music teacher and her mother was a midwife. Although later living on a hardscrabble farm on the Missouri Ozards, Caroline's parents where strong supporters of higher education for all their children^[3]—cite motherload—and Caroline received her Teaching Certificate from Lebanon Normal School in 1901.^[1] She used this certificate and teaching knowledge to support herself as an instructor at University of Missouri Medical School teaching pathology 1901 through 1909 while working on her Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees.

Awards

In 1909, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Ph.D in Anatomy and Physiology.

In 1909, Caroline was honored as the first recipient of the Sarah Berliner Research Fellowship, an endowment that paid for a one-year study in Europe, with the opportunity to meet and study with authoritative persons in her field of Zoology science and endowment that paid for a one-year study in Europe and the opportunity to meet and study with authoritative persons in her field of Zoology science.^[2] Caroline studied at University of Berlin in Germany, University of Tübingen in Germany, and Naples Zoological Station in Italy.

Publications

• The Effect of Low Temperatures on Hydra. McGill, Caroline. Biological Bulletin, ISSN 0006-3185, 01/1908, Volume 14, Issue 2, pp. 78–88
• The structure of smooth muscle in the resting and in the contracted condition. McGill, Caroline. American Journal of Anatomy, ISSN 0002-9106, 1909, Volume 9, Issue 1, pp. 493–562
• The early histogenesis of striated muscle in the sophagus of the pig and the dogfish. McGill, Caroline. The Anatomical Record, ISSN 0003-276X, 01/1910, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 23–47
• The effect of contraction on the volume of the smooth muscle nucleus. McGill, Caroline. The Anatomical Record, ISSN 0003-276X, 12/1909, Volume 3, Issue 12, pp. 633–635
• The chromosomes of anasa tristis and anax junius. Lefevre, George and McGill, Caroline. American Journal of Anatomy, ISSN 0002-9106, 02/1908, Volume 7, Issue 4, pp. 469–487
• Blood Urea Determinations in 211 Cases. Schwartz, Harold and McGill, Caroline. Archives of Internal Medicine, EISSN 1538-3679, 01/1916, Volume XVII, Issue 1, p. 42
• Abstracts. Corson, Eugene R; McGill, Caroline; Kirk, Edwin G; Coghill, G. E; Pohlman, A. G; Retzer, Robert. The Anatomical Record, ISSN 0003-276X, 07/1908, Volume 2, Issue 4, pp. 143–156

Dr. McGill

While traveling in Europe on the Sarah Berliner Fellowship, she was asked to come to Montana to become that state's first pathologist and after returning from her studies in Europe, Caroline moved to Butte, Montana to become the state's first pathologist (1911–13) and worked extensively as an advocate for tuberculosis patient and community health initiatives.

Dr. McGill pathology work related to Butte miners and the Butte community's ongoing battle with tubercolosis which prompted her to work with Montana's antituberculosis organizations; the Montana Tuberculosis Association and an organizer of the Butte Anit-Tuberculosis Society.^[4]

Later years

After retiring from her medical practice in 1956, she started working with Dr. Merrill G. Burlingame in 1957 by giving a remarkable gift to the people of Montana by providing a large collection of artifacts, collectible antiques, her personal and professional papers, and her time to catalog all the materials and the two became the co-founders of the Museum of the Rockies.^[1]

References