1819-1893. US entrepreneur and patent
medicine proprietor, who claimed she could
cure any `female complaint'. Pinkham began
her manufacturing business in a cellar
kitchen where she developed and mixed her own
formulae. Although her claims of cures were
never substantiated, her mixtures became
increasingly popular, as was the Department
of Advice she set up with an all-female staff
to deal with the huge volume of enquiries the
Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co. attracted.