Susan La Flesche Picotte Google doodle pays homage to first American Indian to earn her medical degree

Google is giving the public health advocate known as "Dr. Sue" prominent placement on their home page on what would have been her 152nd birthday.

Chat with SearchBot

Susan La Flesche Picottes 152nd Birthday

Today’s Google doodle honors Dr. Susan La Flesch Picotte on what would have been her 152nd birthday.

Born on this date on the Omaha reservation in Nebraska in 1865, Picotte was encouraged by her father “to be somebody in the world.” According to Google, she did just that, leaving the reservation to attend the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.

From the Google Doodle Blog:

She graduated at the top of her class. Despite receiving numerous prestigious job offers, Picotte chose to return to the reservation to provide the medical care that her tribe badly needed — tending to patients across 1,350 square miles on foot and horseback, in wind, snow, and rain.

Earning the affectionate moniker “Dr. Sue,” Picotte was not only a physician but an advocate for public health practices and social reform.

“Most notably, in 1913,” writes Google, “She personally raised the funds to build a modern hospital in her hometown.”

The hospital Picotte founded is featured in the doodle image to the right. The building on the left is the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania where she earned her medical degree. The doodle leads to a search for “Susan La Flesch Picotte” and is featured exclusively on Google’s US home page.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Amy Gesenhues
Contributor
Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Search Engine Land, MarTech and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.

Get the must-read newsletter for search marketers.