Elizabeth Gregory papers

Born Elizabeth Kachperouni in 1917 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, to Armenian immigrant parents, Elizabeth Gregory spent most of her adult life in Arlington, Massachusetts where she served as a pediatrician for nearly a half century. Gregory graduated from Bates College in 1938, the only female in her class to complete the pre-med courses. She received her medical degree from Boston University in 1942, and established her pediatric practice in Arlington in 1945. During her career, she treated more than 10,000 children, and encouraged some of her patients to pursue a career in medicine. She served on the Board of Trustees of Bates College and on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. She was a long-time supporter of the arts, and amassed an important collection of modern art, focusing specifically on the work of painter Hyman Bloom, a member of the Boston Expressionist movement. She was also friends with noted Armenian artists such as the composer Alan Hovhaness and the sculptor and musician Yenovk Der Hagopian. Gregory died in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in 2012.