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Zakrzewska, Maria Elizabeth

Physician and Medical College Professor. Mother of Playground Movement in U.S. Born, Sept. 6, 1829 in Berlin, Germany of a Polish family of wealth, intelligence and distinction. Became interested in the study and practice of medicine, and took a medical course in the Charite Hospital in Berlin, and after finishing the prescribed course, taught in the college and served as assistant in the hospital; later came to U.S. in 1853; studied at the Cleveland Medical College, and was graduated from that school. In 1859 appointed professor of obstetrics in the New England Female Medical College. At her suggestion the trustees of the college added a hospital to the school, to give the students practical instruction. She was there for three years. Had an active part in the establishing and managing of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children; co-operating with Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, the eminent pioneer women physicians. In 1863 she went to Boston, Mass., and became one of the incorporators of the New England Hospital for Women and Children. She served there three years and resigned. Inaugurated the movement for the establishment of playgrounds for children in cities, which gained for her the title of the Mother of Playgrounds Movement. Was also a pioneer of women's rights and a leader of the abolitionist movement together with William Lloyd Garrison. Died in 1902 in Boston, Mass.

From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943

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