Martha G. Thorwick

Martha G. Thorwick (1863 — November 16, 1921) was a Norwegian-born American clubwoman and medical doctor based in San Francisco, California, whose personal life was the subject of scandal and headlines.

Martha G. Thorwick, from a 1911 publication.

Early life

Martha Gurine Thorwick was born in Tingvoll, Nordmøre, Norway, and immigrated to Chicago as a girl. She attended Jenner Medical College and the University of Illinois and earned her medical degree in 1901.[1][2]

Career

Thorwick had a medical practice in San Francisco from 1901. In 1920 she was listed as affiliated with the Mendocino State Hospital; in 1921, she resigned from a post as physician at the California School for Girls in Ventura; her resignation precipitated a school-wide violent protest.[3]

Thorwick was also active in Scandinavian women's organizations in San Francisco.[4] She founded NORA (a Norwegian women's hospital charity)[5] and was its president for several years.[6] She also helped to organize the Daughters of Norway Lodge Anna Kolbjornsen No. 4, and served as secretary of the Danish Sisterhood.[1]

Personal life

In 1915, Martha G. Thorwick married her patient, Niso Secondo di Giannini, an Italian count and World War I veteran she first met in Chicago.[7][8] However, the count soon accused Thorwick of trickery, medical malpractice, and abuse, and sued for annulment on the basis of "fraud and duress".[9][10] They divorced; in 1917 he announced that he was returning to France, because "I prefer the front line trenches to matrimony."[11] He nonetheless continued to harass Dr. Thorwick, narrowly avoiding a jail sentence for his activities.[12]

Martha Gurine Thorwick di Giannini died in 1921, aged 58 years,[13] from stomach cancer,[14] in San Francisco.[15]

References
  1. "Dr. Martha G. Thorwick" The American Scandinavian (December 1911): 16.
  2. "Graduates of 1901 of the College of Medicine" Proceedings of the Board of Trustees, University of Illinois (May 28, 1901): 72.
  3. A. M. Rochlen, "Girls Plotted to Burn Whole School, Escape" Los Angeles Times (March 2, 1921): 17. via Newspapers.com
  4. "Norwegian Citizens to Aid Stricken at Home" San Francisco Call (February 14, 1904): 28. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Norwegian Club Nora to Give Entertainment" San Francisco Call (April 7, 1907): 36. via Newspapers.com
  6. "Club of Norwegian Women" San Francisco Chronicle (May 29, 1903): 10. via Newspapers.com
  7. "Births, Marriages, Deaths" New York Medical Journal (May 8, 1915): 980.
  8. "Meet After 20 Years; Wedding is Result" Oakland Tribune (April 6, 1915): 6. via Newspapers.com
  9. "Doped and Wed, Alleges Count" Los Angeles Times (December 7, 1915): II10.
  10. "Count Giannini to File New Suit" San Francisco Chronicle (January 23, 1916): 50. via Newspapers.com
  11. "Count Prefers Front Trench to Married Life" Muncie Evening Press (November 6, 1917): 6. via Newspapers.com
  12. "Count Escapes Term in Jail by an Apology" San Francisco Chronicle (October 20, 1917): 4. via Newspapers.com
  13. "All Up and Down the Illini Creation" The Alumni Quarterly and Fortnightly Notes (February 1, 1922): 120.
  14. "Deaths" The Journal of the American Medical Association (January 21, 1922): 32.
  15. The Alumni Record of the University of Illinois (1921): 80.
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