Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was the first woman to do what?

Born in 1832, Mary Walker was a remarkable, if often overlooked American hero. The fifth daughter of Alvah and Vesta Whitcomb Walker, Mary was encouraged to pursue an education in a time when most women were considered little more than property. Originally, her intention was to become a teacher but at 19 she chose to pursue a medical degree. Enrolling in Syracuse Medical College, Walker graduated with a doctor of medicine degree in 1855.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, she applied to join the army but was rejected because of her gender. Undaunted, she volunteered to serve without pay. Although she was a physician, because she was a woman she was assigned to worked as a nurse in a temporary hospital set up in the capital. In 1862, Dr. Walker went to Virginia to provide medical care to the wounded, and in 1863 she was appointed surgeon in an Ohio Regiment. In the summer of 1864, she was apparently captured and became a prisoner of war but was later exchanged for a Confederate soldier. In September of 1864, Dr. Walker was contracted as acting assistant surgeon with the Ohio 52nd Infantry.

In 1865 Dr. Walker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for her work during the Civil War. To this day she is the only female to have ever received this distinction. Also she was the first woman to serve as an Army doctor and dedicated the rest of her life to fighting for women's equality.