L'Esperance, Elise Strang (c. 1879–1959)

American physician. Name variations: Elise Strang L'Esperance; Elise Depew Strang. Born Elise Depew Strang, c. 1879, in Yorktown, NY; died Jan 21, 1959; dau. of Kate (Depew) Strang (died 1930) and Dr. Albert Strang; sister of May Strang; niece of Chauncey Depew, US senator and financier; m. David L'Esperance (lawyer), 1900.

With sister, founded the world's 1st clinic for prevention and detection of cancer, the Kate Depew Strang Tumor Clinic (1933) at New York Infirmary for Women and Children; received diploma from Woman's Medical College of New York Infirmary (1900); at Tuberculosis Research Commission of New York, studied bacteriology for NYC Department of Health; assisted Cornell University Medical College cancer specialist, James Ewing (1910–12); studied pathology in Munich (1914); at Cornell University, was pathology instructor (1912–20), assistant pathology professor (1920–32), the 1st woman to hold such a position there at the time, then assistant professor in Preventative Medicine Department (1942–50) and full professor (1950–59); served as Bellevue Hospital surgical pathology instructor (1919–32) and pathologist and director of laboratories (1917–27, 1929–54) at New York Infirmary for Women and Children; established the Strang Cancer Prevention Clinic at New York's Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases (1940), where a number of advancements developed, including the Pap smear and the protoscope.