Lucy Hobbs Taylor (1833–1910) was the first woman dentist who graduated from a dental college. She pursued dentistry even after multiple rejections from the dental and medical colleges of the time. Black and women were not allowed in medical colleges before civil war era due to 'only whites males policy'. It was unthinkable to those in power for a woman to be granted a position outside of her norms. Most women were employed in textile industry at the time and Dr. Lucy Hobbs Taylor also supported herself during her studies by this means.
Separate medical colleges were built for blacks after the civil war and women were also slowly accepted after Dr. Taylor paved the way.
Lucy Beaman Hobbs was born on March 14,1883 in Constable, in Franklin County, New York, United states. She was the seventh of ten children of Benjamin Hobbs and Lucy Beaman Hobbs who had moved to New York from New England (U.S.) several years ago. 1
Her mother passed when she was only 10 years old and her father remarried her aunt who also died within few years. So lucy and her brother Thomas were placed in a residential school, Franklin Academy in Malone, New York from where she graduated later in 1849. 1
After completing her academy education, Lucy spent about ten years working as a schoolteacher in a public school, in Michigan. She dreamt of studying medicine while working in Brookyln.
In 1859, Lucy Beaman Hobbs moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and applied to Eclectic Medical College but was refused a seat due to her gender.
However, Charles A. Cleaveland, professor at the Eclectic College of Medicine, agreed to tutor Hobbs privately. Soon she realised the private apprenticeship or tutoring will not be fruitful for her goal to be a doctor, it was necessary to get a medical license registered to practice by 1830s. And only graduates could complete the registration. She turned to dentistry after Cleaveland suggested it since dentistry still didn't need a license to practice. Ohio college of dental surgery was established soon and Hobbs applied for a seat. She was rejected there too. But the dean of the college, Jonathan Taft, agreed to tutor her privately. Jonathan Taft is said to be one of the founder of the American Dental Association and elected as the president in 1868. 2
Soon after the training she received from Dr. Taft, she secured an apprenticeship under Dr. Samuel Wardle. She learned most of the procedures like extraction of teeth, anaesthesia, sterilisation of instruments under Dr. Samuel Wardle. She again applied to Ohio dental college only to be rejected again. Determined to practice she opened her own clinic in Cincinnati, but failed to get good number of patients due to the onset of Civil war. She closed up and moved to Bellevue, Iowa. She established a better practice there and repaid her loans. She later moved to McGregor in Iowa, which was a better town and became more financially stable.
In 1865, she was admitted to Iowa State Dental society, officially recognised by her peers due to her flourishing practice. Later, the pressure from peers from the society led to her acceptance to dental school after multiple rejections. She graduated the top of class after joining directly to its senior class in 1866.
On February 21, 1866, Dr. Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first woman in the world to become a Doctor of Dental Surgery. 1
Taylor moved her practice to Chicago, and she was elected to Illinois State Dental Society. In July 1866, she went back to Iowa to address and give a lecture in state dental association. In another first, she presented a paper in mallet filing pressure during the filling of cavities in the conference.
Lucy Beaman Hobbs met James Myrtle Taylor in 1867 in Chicago. He had served in the American Civil War and later worked as a railroad car painter.
They married in 1867, and later relocated to Lawrence, Kansas, where the couple established a dental practice together. They had no children. James started as a apprentice to his wife and later recognised as a dentist. They established a very successful practice together and built a home there. James catered to male patients and Lucy attended women and children while also specialising in false teeth. They were joined by more dentists as part of growing the practice. In 1886, James Taylor, died and Lucy took a step down from the practice after a year. She was an active member of several woman rights movements at this time and of Republican party. Hobbs was involved in several organizations including Daughters of Rebekah, an auxiliary to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Order of the Eastern Star, auxiliary to Freemasonry.
In 1895 she repurchased the office building and reopened her dental office in Lawrence on Vermont Street, maintaining a limited practice until her health declined. She died on October 3, 1910, in Lawrence, Kansas, at age 77 due to a cerebral hemorrhage 6. She is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.
Such is the stature of Lucy Hobbs Taylor that Medelita, a manufacturer of scrubs and lab coats, designed and named a lab coat of 34" in honor of Taylor as ain tribute to Taylor. 4
Today the American Association of Women Dentists recognizes outstanding women in the dental profession with the Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award, the most prestigious honor the organization bestows. 5
By 1900, nearly one thousand female dentists were practicing in the United States, many of whom followed paths opened in part by Hobbs Taylor’s example.
Her membership in and addresses to dental societies contributed to changing norms about women’s participation in dentistry. Her work persuaded institutions to reconsider policies excluding women.
Although other papers and theories she might have done remain unknown, her professional journey is well documented through her well-established practice. At a time when women were reserved to work in textile and household, her perseverance to break the societal barriers and pursue a profession of her choice remain applaudable. Her persistent efforts to achieve education in dentistry, by fighting the system and finally opening a practice before obtaining degree challenging all the norms remains inspiring. She was then paving the way for many women to come behind her by proving her competence in a male dominated world.
Through recognitions like the Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award, world still remembers her.
References:
“Taylor, Lucy Hobbs (1833–1910).” Encyclopedia.com. n.d. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/taylor-lucy-hobbs-1833-1910.
American Dental Association. “100 Presidents of the ADA.” ADA Commons. n.d. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://commons.ada.org/presidents/100/.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Lucy Hobbs Taylor | Biography & Facts.” Britannica. n.d. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucy-Hobbs-Taylor.
“Lucy Beaman Hobbs Taylor — Sindecuse Museum.” Sindecuse Museum. n.d. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://www.sindecusemuseum.org/lucy-beaman-hobbs-taylor.
Kansas Historical Society. “Lucy Hobbs Taylor.” Kansapedia. n.d. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://www.kansashistory.gov/kansapedia/lucy-hobbs-taylor/15500.
“Lucy Hobbs Taylor.” iFeminist. n.d. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://ifeminist.org/taylor.html
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