A Pioneer in Women's Health, Dr. James Marion Sims (1813-1883)

James Marion Sims, one of the most well-known and respected surgeons in America, lived from January 25, 1813, to November 13, 1883. He was chosen to be the American Medical Association's president in 1876 and was amongst the first American doctors to gain recognition in Europe. He founded New York's first hospital exclusively for women, despite strong opposition. The creation of a surgical method for treating vesicovaginal fistulas, a serious side effect of difficult childbirth, is his most well-known accomplishment. In addition, he is credited with creating the Sims sigmoid catheter, Sims speculum, and Sims posture. It would be difficult to find a more controversial figure in the history of medicine. In Bryant Park in New York City, a statue honoring him - the first one honoring a physician in the country - was constructed in 1894. It was taken down in 2018. The primary sources of information on Sims and his life and work are reports on his medical experiments that he published in abundance and his own 471-page autobiography (which was condensed into a speech shortly before his death).