Miriam Lee

Miriam Lee (1926 – June 24, 2009) was a pioneering acupuncturist known for her contributions to the legalization of acupuncture in California. Born in China in 1926, Lee worked as a nurse-midwife before becoming an acupuncturist. After leaving China in 1949, she lived in Singapore for 17 years before immigrating to the United States. Upon arriving in California, acupuncture was illegal, so Lee quietly provided treatments from her home and eventually shared a space with a supportive medical doctor. In 1974, she was arrested for practicing medicine without a license, but her patients protested, leading to acupuncture being made an experimental procedure. In 1976, Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation that legalized acupuncture in California.