Josephine Bicknell Neal

Neal was born on October 10, 1880, in Belmont, Maine. She attended Bates College and Cornell University Medical College.^[1]

Neal held various positions throughout her career. She was a teacher in Maine until she earned enough money to pay for medical school. She worked as a researcher in the subject of meningitis for New York City Department of Health. She was a physician specializing in pediatric tuberculosis at the Vanderbilt Clinic (part of Columbia University Irving Medical Center). Neal served on the International Commission for the Study of Infantile Paralysis.^[1]

Neal also taught at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, retiring in 1941.^[2] Neal was the author of books and articles including Encephalitis: A Clinical Study.^[3] In reviewing Encephalitis: A Clinical Study, Time magazine referred to the U.S.'s No. 1 encephalitis specialist, Dr. Josephine Bicknell Neal of New York City's Health Department. ^[4] In 1934 she was a volunteer for a test vaccine for polio.^[1]

Neal died on March 19, 1955, in the New York Infirmary.^[2]