Edith Eareckson

Edith Eareckson was born in Baltimore in 1866 and was a daughter of Dr. Edwin and Martha A. Eareckson. She attended local public schools and graduated from Eastern High School. She then took courses at two local private schools. She entered the Woman’s Medical College on McCulloh Street from which she graduated in 1894. Later that year, she passed the Maryland State Medical Exam and became a member of the Faculty, per an article in the Baltimore Sun.

In 1895, Dr. Eareckson became a Lecturer on Hygiene at the Woman’s Medical College, along with other early physicians, including Dr. Claribel Cone.

Dr. Eareckson was an early advocate for women riding bikes, or the “wheel”. “Comparing the motion of a bicycle to that of a sewing machine is absurd, for the ankle, knee and hip is altogether different. I know of no athletic exercise that brings all of the muscles into play so well and so happily as bicycle riding.” She and other female physicians in Baltimore discussed cycling clothing and other issues in an article in the Baltimore Sun in 1900.

In 1901, Dr. Eareckson and several other young ladies left to spend a year in Europe, which for her, included post-graduate work in Berlin, Germany.

She practiced medicine at 923 Madison Avenue in Baltimore for a number of years, but gave up her practice and began insurance claim work. She was a member of the National Medical Society of the United States, the Medical & Chirurgical Faculty, and numerous other medical societies.

Dr. Edith Eareckson died at age 55 following complication from an illness on September 19, 1921. She is buried at Baltimore's Greenmount Cemetery.