Cambridge Checkpoint Science Challenge Workbook 9

Mary Dixon Jones

Mary Amanda Dixon Jones was an American physician and surgeon in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, who was the first American physician to propose and perform a total hysterectomy to treat a tumor in the uterine muscle (myoma). Jones had a successful career until her work doing gynecological surgery at Woman's Hospital of Brooklyn drew the attention of the news media, and she was the subject of a 24-article investigative expose by the Brooklyn Eagle. As a result, she was charged with one count of murder, and one count of manslaughter. She was found not guilty, and sued the Eagle. She lost the libel case, and was forced to close her medical practice. Jones then spent the last years of her medical career researching the tissue pathology of gynecological conditions.