User:SamCordes/Draft/Harriet Lawrence

Harriet Lawrence was an American pathologist and the first known female pathologist in Oregon. During the Spanish flu, Lawrence developed an antiserum which was distributed across Oregon to treat the infected.

Early life
Lawrence was born in Kingsbury Plantation, Maine on September 13, 1883. She began teaching at the local schoolhouse at age 15 and saved enough money to put herself through college. In 1912, she was one of six women in the Boston University School of Medicine graduating class.

Career
Upon graduation, Lawrence worked as a resident pathologist in Boston for a few months before moving to Oregon where she began working with a tuberculosis specialist. In 1913, Lawrence opened her own laboratory in the Selling Building in downtown Portland.

In 1918, the Spanish flu began and the Oregon State Board of Health delivered a culture of the virus to Lawrence's laboratory. Working with the culture, Lawrence was able to develop an antiserum which was sent across Oregon to treat the infected. She was recognized by President Woodrow Wilson for her contributions to medicine.

Lawrence was also active in the P.E.O. Sisterhood, where she advocated for equal education and encouraged women to enter the medical field. Lawrence worked at her laboratory in the Selling Building for over 50 years, during which she referred to herself as the "microbe hunter" and developed a reputation for reliability. In 1963, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University before retiring in 1967. On March 1, 1974, she died at the age of 91 in Portland.