Salome Merritt (1843-1900) was a physician, suffragist and lecturer who also played an important role in the civic life of Boston. She graduated from the New York Free Medical College for Women in 1874 and then taught at that school for two years before returning to Boston and establishing a medical practice at this location. She worked to nominate and elect women to Boston’s School Board and was instrumental in the formation of a Committee of Counsel and Co-operation in Boston which promoted reforms in labor practices for women and advocated for policies to improve public health. Later Merritt was among the women who encouraged the mayor to appoint a Board of Visitors to ensure accountability in city departments. She was president for many years of the Ladies’ Physiological Institute which had been formed in 1848 and sponsored regular lectures on how women could keep themselves and their families healthy.
