“Inspirational” Fe del Mundo’s Harvard Achievements Weren’t Well Documented

Several stories memorializing Google Doodle honoree Dr. Fe del Mundo on Tuesday recalled the moment the Filipino physician became the first female student at Harvard Medical School in 1933, years before the school formally allowed women to enroll.

Among those enthralled by the brilliant doctor’s story was Joan Ilacqua, archivist for diversity and inclusion at Harvard’s Center for the History of Medicine. But while poring over the records, Ilacqua discovered some parts of the popular del Mundo story that weren’t documented in Harvard’s archives.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Ilacqua wrote: “What do you do if a Google Doodle about your institution isn’t quite right? If you’re me, you freak out all day and try to write something coherent about what we know and what we don’t know.”

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