Name Nellie Pooler | ||
Nellie E. Pooler Chapman was the first woman dentist in California. Born in 1847 in Norridgewock, Maine, she learned by assisting her husband with his dental practice and quickly took to dentistry. In an effort to minimize financial hardship, Chapman became the first registered women dentist in the west in 1879. Recovering financially, her dental practice continued to grow. Chapman soon equipped her practice with state of the art equipment and her clients were said to be treated “like royalty". Both of her sons followed in her footsteps and became dentists as well. Chapman has been said to have paved the way for women dentists in the Western United States that would follow. An exhibit detailing the events of Gordon’s life can be seen at the Women's Museum of California in San Diego, California.