Gertrude Stanton dating history

Details

Gertrude Stanton (née, Smith; after first marriage, Ayer; after second marriage, Stanton; after third marriage, Jones; 1863-1931) was an American optometrist from Iowa who was the first woman in the world to be licensed to practice optometry. She studied at the Northern Illinois College of Otology and Ophthalmology in Chicago, graduating in the 1890s, and established a long career in Minnesota, where she practiced for several decades. Stanton held leadership roles in professional and civic organizations, including serving as vice president of the National Association of Optometrists. During World War I, she assisted the U.S. government by testing soldiers' eyesight, and later employed her daughter in what became the first woman-owned optometry practice in the United States.