August 10: Dr. Jacobs

Aletta Henriette Jacobs, the first woman doctor in Holland and a leader in the fields of peace activism, birth control, women’s suffrage, control of venereal disease, and the legalization of prostitution, died on this date in 1929 in the Netherlands at age 75. Jacobs practiced medicine in Amsterdam and established a free clinic for poor women; she also introduced the pessary (diaphragm) to her country as a birth control device. During and after World War I, Jacobs traveled the world urging alternatives to military violence, and in 1919 she co-founded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in the Hague.


“As the only woman doctor in Holland, I often found it difficult and painful to row against the tide of lies and slander spread by my male counterparts. However, the absolute conviction that I was doing the right thing, and the awareness that this whole situation concerned not only individual suffering but also the interests of society at large, gave me the strength to stand by my point of view.” —Aletta Henriette Jacobs