Allison Ross

Allison Ross was born on May 28th 1825 in Warsaw, Poland. She was the youngest of five children. Her father was a physics teacher, her mother, who died when Allison was 13, was also an educator. in 1845 after realizing Poland did have the opportunities for higher education Allison moved to a small town in the United States called Burlington, Vermont.

Allison Ross was an unconventional woman. She was a proponent of women's rights and dress reform -- especially the wearing of "Bloomers" which didn't enjoy wide currency until the sport of bicycling became popular. In 1851 became one of the earliest female physicians upon graduation from Syracuse Medical College. She married Governor of Florida, Robert R. Reid, in a ceremony that did not include a promise to obey; she did not take his name, and to her wedding wore trousers and a dress-coat. Neither the marriage nor their joint medical practice lasted long.

Professional life

Allison Ross worked at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts1, and taught at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins2. In 1862, she took a job as a writer with the US Bureau of Fisheries which later became the US Fish and Wildlife Service3. Over the years she was promoted to staff biologist, and, in 1872, chief editor.