Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was one of the first Indian women to qualify as a doctor in Western medicine and the first to earn a medical degree in the United States. Married at nine and a mother at fourteen, she crossed the ocean alone at eighteen in defiance of orthodox opinion, graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1886 and died of tuberculosis the following year, a month before her twenty-second birthday.
Quick Facts
| Birth name | Yamuna |
| Born | 31 March 1865, Kalyan, Bombay Presidency, India |
| Died | 26 February 1887 (aged 21), Pune |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | First Indian woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States |
| Education | Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (M.D., 1886) |
| Spouse | Gopalrao Joshi |
Early Life
She was born Yamuna into a Chitpavan Brahmin family of Kalyan, near Bombay, that had once been landowners and had fallen on hard times. At nine she was married to Gopalrao Joshi, a postal clerk and widower nearly twenty years older, who gave her the name Anandi. Gopalrao was an eccentric and determined believer in women’s education at a time when it was thought improper, and he made teaching his wife his mission, sometimes harshly. He had himself transferred to Alibag, Kolhapur and Calcutta partly so that she could study away from disapproving relatives.
At fourteen she gave birth to a son, who lived only ten days because no proper medical care was available. She later said that this loss decided her to become a doctor, so that Indian women, many of whom would die before letting a male physician examine them, might be treated by a woman.
The Road to America
In 1880 Gopalrao wrote to an American missionary asking for help in sending his wife to study in the United States. The letter was published in a missionary journal and was read by Theodicia Carpenter of Roselle, New Jersey, who was moved to write to Anandibai and offer her a home. The two corresponded for years.
The plan caused outrage: a Hindu woman crossing the sea, alone, to live among foreigners. In 1883 she addressed a public meeting at Serampore College near Calcutta. She explained the need for Hindu women doctors, said that she would open a medical college for women in India, and promised that she would go as a Hindu and return as one. The speech was widely reported and brought donations, including one from the Viceroy.
Medical Training
She sailed from Calcutta in April 1883 and enrolled at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, one of the first such institutions in the world. She kept to her sari and a vegetarian diet through the American winters, and her health began to fail. She graduated on 11 March 1886 with a thesis on obstetrics among Hindus that drew on Sanskrit texts and American textbooks. Pandita Ramabai was in the audience, and Queen Victoria sent a message of congratulation.
Return and Death
The princely state of Kolhapur appointed her physician in charge of the women’s ward at its Albert Edward Hospital. She returned to India at the end of 1886 to a welcome that surprised her, but she was already gravely ill with tuberculosis. She died at Pune on 26 February 1887. Her ashes were sent to Theodicia Carpenter and lie in the family’s plot at Poughkeepsie, New York.
Legacy
Although she never practised, her example opened a path, and her letters show a clear and independent mind. Her life has been told in biographies, a Marathi novel, plays and films, and a crater on Venus bears her name.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Anandibai Joshi born?
Anandibai Joshi was born on 31 March 1865 in Kalyan, Bombay Presidency, India.
When did Anandibai Joshi die?
Died: 26 February 1887 (aged 21), Pune.
What is Anandibai Joshi known for?
Known for: First Indian woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States.
Featured image: Dr Anandibai Joshi, photographed in the 1880s. Photo by an unknown photographer, in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
