Elizabeth C. Crosby

Elizabeth Caroline Crosby

Elizabeth Caroline Crosby sitting in lab with microscope. This photo was distributed in connection with her 1950 award from the American Association of University of Women.[1]
Born (1888-10-25)October 25, 1888
Petersburg, Michigan
Died July 28, 1983(1983-07-28) (aged 94)
Other names Elizabeth C. Crosby
Nationality American
Fields neuroanatomy, neuroscience, neurosurgery
Institutions University of Alabama Birmingham, University of Michigan Medical School
Alma mater University of Chicago
Thesis The Forebrain of Alligator Mississippiensis (1915)

Elizabeth C. Crosby (October 25, 1888 – July 28, 1983) was an American neuroanatomist.[2][3] Crosby received the National Medal of Science from President Jimmy Carter in 1979 "for outstanding contributions to comparative and human neuroanatomy and for the synthesis and transmission of knowledge of the entire nervous system of the vertebrate phylum."[4] Her "careful descriptions" of vertebrate brains - especially reptiles - helped to "outline evolutionary history" and her work as a clinical diagnostic assistant to neurosurgeons resulted in "the correlation of anatomy and surgery." [5]

Education and Career

Crosby graduated from Adrian College with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1910. Influenced by professor of physics and chemistry Elmer Jones, she attended the University of Chicago under C. Judson Herrick and received her Masters of Science in biology in 1912 and then her Ph.D. in anatomy in 1915 via a fellowship.[2] In 1920, Crosby accepted a teaching position in the University of Michigan's department of anatomy under G. Carl Huber; her classes included histology and neuroanatomy, and, while there, Crosby contributed significantly to The Comparative Anatomy of the Nervous System of Vertebrates (1936).

Although Crosby did not have a medical background, she became the first woman to receive full professorship at the University of Michigan Medical School, in 1936[2] and the first to receive the University's Faculty Achievement Award, given in 1956.[2][5] She eventually became Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Consultant of Neurosurgery before leaving Michigan for Alabama in 1963, where she again became Professor Emeritus of Anatomy.[3] She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1987.[6]

Other distinctions and awards include:

Selected Works

References

  1. ↑ "Elizabeth Caroline Crosby (1888-1983), sitting in lab with microscope". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bartlett, Nancy; Nicholas J. Scalera. "Biography". Finding Aid for Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Papers, 1918-1983. University of Michigan: Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elizabeth Caroline Crosby (1888-1983)". Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Elizabeth C. Crosby". The President's National Medal of Science. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Elizabeth C. Crosby". Michigan Woman's Historical Center & Hall of Fame. Michigan Woman's Historical Center & Hall of Fame. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Inductees". Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. State of Alabama. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "Gets Woman's Award". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 9 July 2013.

Hill, Whitley. "Quiet pioneer". Medicine at Michigan. University of Michigan. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 

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