Bass, Elizabeth

Bass, (Mary) Elizabeth (1876–1956) physician; born in Carley, Miss. She attended local schools and became a teacher (1892–99). As women were then excluded from southern medical schools, in 1900 she enrolled in the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1904. With five female colleagues, she established a free dispensary for the indigent women and children of New Orleans in 1905. In 1911 she and Edith Ballard became the first female faculty members at Tulane University school of medicine, where she taught for 30 years. Her work on behalf of women in medicine opened the doors for many who came after her, internationally as well as locally. She also amassed a major collection of printed materials by and about women in medicine (now part of Tulane's medical library) and she wrote numerous articles and essays on this subject.