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Olivia Campbell
Olivia Campbell

989 Followers

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Mar 13

She’s a Witch!

When suspicion falls on midwife Margaret Jones, she becomes the first victim of the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s witch trials. — Margaret Jones, along with her husband, Thomas, their 3-year-old daughter Sarah and newborn, John, arrived at Massachusetts Bay Colony from England in 1634. The colony had only been established a mere four years prior. Theirs was one of 30 ships to arrive in the Bay that year, a mass migration…

8 min read

She’s a Witch!
She’s a Witch!

8 min read


Mar 9

A Splendid Physician

Halle Tanner Dillon Johnson brings quality healthcare to Tuskegee, Alabama For four long years, Booker T. Washington had been searching for the right person to act as resident physician at his Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He finally reached out to the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania to see if they could recommend anyone. Halle Tanner Dillon was just the woman…

6 min read

A Splendid Physician
A Splendid Physician

6 min read


Aug 26, 2021

Searching for Signs of Myself at the End of the World

Could pandemic fiction ever have prepared me — a clinically depressed person — for the COVID-19 crisis? — When I first read about a novel coronavirus quickly spreading across China in late 2019, a great sense of foreboding washed over me. As someone with depression and anxiety, I felt an urgent need to bathe myself in worst-case-scenarios. I turned to pandemic fiction. My subconscious was craving confirmation that…

Mental Health

7 min read

Searching for Signs of Myself at the End of the World
Searching for Signs of Myself at the End of the World
Mental Health

7 min read


May 28, 2021

An Astrologer of Sexual Wellness

Sarah Jinner and the wild world of 17th century advice We don’t know much about the life of English astrologer Sarah Jinner, when she was born, when she died. What we do know is that she lived in London and published three almanacs between 1658 and 1664. …

History

6 min read

An Astrologer of Sexual Wellness
An Astrologer of Sexual Wellness
History

6 min read


Feb 20, 2021

The Lady is a Naval Engineer

Henrietta Vansittart changes the course of ship propulsion — Henrietta’s tale is one worthy of Hollywood treatment: as inspiring, titillating, and tragic as any portrait of historical male genius that’s regularly plastered across our screens. Born into a poor family, her intelligence and hard work saw her eventually enjoy a successful career when she took up her father’s mantle…

History

6 min read

The Lady is a Naval Engineer
The Lady is a Naval Engineer
History

6 min read


Feb 9, 2021

A Catalyst for Change

Elizabeth Fulhame discovers catalysis and plants the seeds of photography Everyone knows Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius discovered chemical catalysis in 1835, right? He described it as “the property of exerting on other bodies an action which is very different from chemical affinity. By means of this action, they produce decomposition in bodies, and form new compounds into the composition…

History

7 min read

A Catalyst for Change
A Catalyst for Change
History

7 min read


Published in The Shadow

·Feb 4, 2021

A Zoology Genius

Roger Arliner Young, the first Black woman zoologist — Roger Arliner Young’s life began and ended in poverty, but in between she was a groundbreaking research scientist and professor. …

7 min read

A Zoology Genius
A Zoology Genius

7 min read


Published in An Injustice!

·Jan 6, 2021

Bloomers on the Battlefield

The tenacious life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker — While tending to the medical needs of southern Civil War casualties, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was kidnapped by confederate soldiers. She was taken, under guard, from Georgia to Richmond, Virginia and thrown in a cell. It was April 1864, and Mary was serving as assistant surgeon in the Union Army. …

Womens Rights

6 min read

Bloomers on the Battlefield
Bloomers on the Battlefield
Womens Rights

6 min read


Dec 23, 2020

The Heroine of Harlem

The daughter of a slave leaves her mark on cancer research — May was a musician. An incredibly talented pianist. She spent several years as accompanist for Paul Robeson (a renowned performer best known for his rendition of “Ol’ Man River”). She entered Columbia University’s Teachers College in 1917, with plans to major in music. …

Womens Health

6 min read

The Heroine of Harlem
The Heroine of Harlem
Womens Health

6 min read


Dec 16, 2020

When Wise Women Were Witches

The wiping out of women healers in medieval Europe “Do you heal sick persons?” the imposing interrogator asked the frail, aging woman. “Yes, sir,” replied Gostanza da Libbiano, a 60-year-old nun who practiced as a midwife and healer in Tuscany, Italy. …

Women

4 min read

When Wise Women Were Witches
When Wise Women Were Witches
Women

4 min read

Olivia Campbell

Olivia Campbell

989 Followers

New York Times bestselling author of WOMEN IN WHITE COATS. Bylines: The Atlantic, The Cut, Aeon, Smithsonian, Guardian. https://oliviacampbell.substack.com

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