London School Of Medicine For Women
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The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Medicine for Women wanted to provide educated women with the necessary facilities for learning and practicing midwifery and other branches of medicine while also promoting their future employment in the fields of midwifery and other fields of treatment for women and children. In 1877 the
Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...
accepted women students from LSMW to complete their clinical studies there, and by 1896 it had been renamed as the London Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for Women, becoming part of the University of London. In 1947 the school became co-educational and was renamed as the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. In 1998, the school merged with the University College Hospital Medical School under the new name of Royal Free and University College Medical School. In 2008, this name was shortened to
UCL Medical School UCL Medical School is the medical school of University College London (UCL), a public research university in London, England. The school provides a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes and also has a medical ...
.


History

The school was formed in 1874 by an association of pioneering women physicians
Sophia Jex-Blake Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake (21 January 1840 – 7 January 1912) was an English physician, teacher, and feminism, feminist. She led the campaign to secure women access to a university education, when she began studying medicine at the Universit ...
, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson,
Emily Blackwell Emily Blackwell (October 8, 1826 – September 7, 1910) was an American physician and women's rights activist. She was the second woman to earn a Doctor of Medicine, medical degree at what is now Case Western Reserve University, after Nancy Talbo ...
and
Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the Un ...
with
Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...
. The founding was motivated at least in part by Jex-Blake's frustrated attempts at getting a medical degree at a time when women were not admitted to British medical schools, thus being expelled from Edinburgh University. Other women who had studied with Jex-Blake in Edinburgh joined her at the London school, including Isabel Thorne who succeeded her as honorary secretary in 1877. She departed to start a medical practice in Edinburgh where she would found the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women in 1886. The UK Medical Act of 1876 (39 and 40 Vict, Ch. 41) was an act which repealed the previous Medical Act in the United Kingdom and allowed the medical authorities to license all qualified applicants irrespective of gender. In 1877 an agreement was reached with the
Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...
that allowed students at the London School of Medicine for Women to complete their clinical studies there. The Royal Free Hospital was the first teaching hospital in London to admit women for training. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was Dean (1883–1903) while the school was rebuilt, became part of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
and consolidated association with the Royal Free Hospital. In 1896, the School was officially renamed the London (Royal Free Hospital) School of Medicine for Women. In 1894, a well known
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n feminist
Rukhmabai Rukhmabai (22 November 1864 – 25 September 1955) was an Indian physician and feminist. She is best known for being one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India (the first being Dr. Kadambini Ganguly who started practicing in ...
qualified in medicine after attending the London School of Medicine for Women. The number of Indian women students steadily increased so that by 1920 the school, in co-operation with the
India Office The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...
opened a hostel for female Indian medical students. In 1914, the school was further expanded due to the number of women wishing to study medicine, making it necessary to double the number of laboratories and lecture rooms. At the time of expansion, the school had over 300 students enrolled, making it the largest women's university college in Britain. In 1998, it merged with the
University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...
's medical school to form the
UCL Medical School UCL Medical School is the medical school of University College London (UCL), a public research university in London, England. The school provides a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes and also has a medical ...
.


Background about the founders


Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman from the United States of America to receive a medical degree. Born in Bristol, England on 3 February 1821, Elizabeth Blackwell was the third of nine children in the family. Among the many family members, Blackwell had famous relatives, including her brother Henry, a well-known abolitionist and women's rights supporter. In 1832, Blackwell moved to America, specifically settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1838, Blackwell's father, Samuel Blackwell, died, leaving the family in poor economic status during a national economic crisis. Because of this, Blackwell received her first occupational job as a teacher along with her mother and her sisters. Blackwell's inspiration for medicine sparked during a conversation with her dying friend, stating her situation would have been better if she had been a female physician. While teaching, Blackwell boarded two male physicians from the south, allowing her to attain her first real knowledge of the medical field through the mentoring from the two physicians. In 1847, Blackwell applied to college, getting rejected from everywhere she applied, except from Geneva College who accepted her as a practical joke. After receiving years of discrimination, Blackwell eventually graduated first in her class, slowly earning the respect of her professors and educators. Blackwell then returned to New York City, opening a small clinic with the help of her Quaker friends. There she provided positions for women physicians during the Civil War, training women nurses for the union hospitals. In 1869, she left New York City to return to England. From 1875 to 1877 she lectured on gynecology at the newly built London School of Medicine for Women.


Sophia Jex-Blake

Sophia Jex-Blake was born in Hastings, UK in 1840. After attending various private schools, Jex-Blake attended Queen's College. Jex-Blake's pursuit of an occupation in the field of medicine lead to the desire to enroll in the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. Jex-Blake's desire to attend the University of Edinburgh was hindered because the university did not allow women to attend. To fight this, Jex-Blake opened a court case against the university, resulting in an unsuccessful ruling in favor of the University of Edinburgh. In 1889, the Act of Parliament ruled for degrees for women, largely resulting because of Jex-Blake's struggles. This allowed Sophia Jex-Blake to become one of the first female doctors in the UK. Jex-Blake then founded the London School of Medicine for Women as well as the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women.


Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was born in Whitechapel, London and received a good education. She chose to pursue a medical career after meeting Doctor
Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the Un ...
. After applying to several medical schools, Anderson got rejected from all of those she applied to. Thus, Anderson enrolled as a nurse in Middlesex Hospital and was appointed to the position of medical attendant in 1866 at St. Mary's Dispensary. Still wishing to become a doctor, Anderson successfully pursued a medical degree in France. Returning to London, Anderson assisted in the founding of the New Hospital for Women at the St. Mary's Dispensary and the London School of Medicine for Women. Anderson would later oversee the London School's expansion after she received the position of Dean in 1883, after which she also appointed Blackwell as a Professor of Gynaecology. The school was later renamed to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, which was eventually made part of the University of London.


Notable alumni

* Dame
Louisa Aldrich-Blake Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake (15 August 1865 – 28 December 1925) was a pioneering surgeon and one of the first British women to enter the world of modern medicine. Born in Chingford, Essex, she was the eldest daughter of a curate. L ...
, first woman in Britain to be awarded the degree of Master of Surgery. *
Florence Barrett Florence Elizabeth, Lady Barrett, (née Perry; 1867 – 7 August 1945) was a consultant surgeon at the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton and the Royal Free Hospital in London. She was a gynaecologist, obstetrician and eugenecist. Early and privat ...
, consultant surgeon at the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton and the Royal Free Hospital in London, graduated 1906 *
Diana Beck Diana Jean Kinloch Beck (29 June 1900 or 1902 – 3 March 1956) was the first British female neurosurgeon. She established the neurosurgery service at the Middlesex Hospital in London. In 1952 she gained a public profile for performing life-sav ...
, consultant neurosurgeon at
Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
, graduated 1925 *
Julia Bell Julia Bell MA Dubl (1901) MRCS LRCP (1920) MRCP (1926) FRCP (1938) (28 January 1879 – 26 April 1979) was one of the pioneers of eugenics and human genetics.Greta Jones, 'Bell, Julia (1879–1979)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' ...
, human geneticist and member of the
Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...
, graduated 1920 *
Rosemary Biggs Rosemary Peyton Biggs (21 April 1912 – 29 June 2001) was an English haematologist. She worked closely with Robert Gwyn Macfarlane at the Radcliffe Infirmary and Churchill Hospital in Oxford, where she studied coagulation disorders, pa ...
, haematologist, graduated 1943 *
Margery Blackie Margery Grace Blackie Royal Victorian Order, CVO MD, FFHom (4 February 1898 – 24 August 1981) was a British Doctor of Medicine who was appointed as the first woman royal physician to Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II. Early life Blackie was ...
, homeopath to Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, graduated 1923 *
Mary Alice Blair Mary Alice Blair (1880–1962) was a New Zealand doctor who organised hospitals in Malta, Serbia and Salonika during the First World War. She was in charge of Serbian hospital evacuation to Corsica where  she was responsible for the thousands o ...
, surgeon and Unit Administrator with the Scottish Women's Hospital for Foreign Service, graduated 1910 * Margaret Boileau, doctor and surgeon from
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, graduated 1906 * Ruth Bowden, professor of anatomy at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, graduated 1940 * Winifred Buckley, army surgeon at the Endell Street Military Hospital, graduated ''c.'' 1910 * Fanny Jane Butler, in first graduating class, 1880; known as first English, fully trained medical missionary in India * Dame Hilda Bynoe, Governor of
Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
, graduated 1951 * Phillis Emily Cunnington, collector, writer and historian on costume and fashion, graduated 1918 * Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon, a founder of the science of epidemiology, graduated 1901 * Eleanor Davies-Colley, surgeon, first female FRCS, co-founder of the South London Hospital for Women and Children, graduated 1907 * Katharine Dormandy, haematologist at the Royal Free Hospital, graduated 1951 *
Eva Frommer Eva Ann Frommer (6 September 1927 – 8 August 2004) was a German-born British consultant child psychiatrist, working at St Thomas' Hospital in South London. Her specialism was to apply the arts and eurythmy to the treatment of pre-school child ...
, pioneering child psychiatrist, founder of the Children's Day Hospital and foundation member of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...
, graduated 1952 * Frances Gardner, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Free Hospital, graduated 1940 * Louisa Garrett Anderson, co-founder of Women's Hospital for Children, co-founder and Chief Surgeon of Women's Hospital Corps, graduated circa 1897 * Mary Gordon, first British female prison inspector, graduated 1890 * Mary Esther Harding, Jungian psychoanalyst, graduated 1910 * Dorothy Christian Hare, medical director of the
Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...
* Charlotte Leighton Houlton, chief medical officer, Women's Medical Service of India (1935–1939) * Jerusha Jhirad, the first Indian woman with a degree in obstetrics and gynaecology, graduated 1919 * Una Ledingham, expert on diabetes and pregnancy, graduated 1927 * Katharine Lloyd-Williams, anaesthetist, graduated 1926 * Margaret Lowenfeld,
child psychologist Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, ...
,
psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...
and
paediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their yout ...
, graduated 1918 * Isabella Macdonald Macdonald, graduated in 1888, one of the first few women in the UK to do so * Helen Mackay, the first female fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...
* Flora Murray, co-founder of Women's Hospital for Children and the Women's Hospital Corps, graduated circa 1895 * Christine Murrell, first female member of the
British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...
Central Council, graduated 1899 * Doris Lyne Officer, graduated 1921 * Elizabeth Margaret Pace,
gynocologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...
, graduated 1891 *
Sylvia Payne Sylvia May Payne (née Moore; 6 November 1880 – 30 May 1976) was one of the pioneers of psychoanalysis in the United Kingdom. Early life Born as Sylvia May Moore in Marylebone, London, the daughter of Rev. Edward William Moore and his wife ...
, president of the British Psychoanalytical Society * Innes Hope Pearse, co-founder of the Pioneer Health Centre and the
Peckham Experiment The Peckham Experiment was an experiment designed to determine whether people as a whole would, given the opportunity, take a vested interest in their own health and fitness and expend effort to maintain it. The experiment took place between 192 ...
, graduated 1915 * Frances Helen Prideaux, known as "one of the most distinguished students" of the School and first woman to be appointed to a London hospital in an open competition with men, graduated 1884 * Gladys Maud Sandes, surgeon, venereologist, and first woman physician at London Lock Hospital, graduated 1922 * Sophia Seekings Friel, one of the first Maternity and Child Welfare Inspectors and co-founder of the Tottenham 'school for mothers' * Edith Shove, graduated 1882 * Honor Smith, neurologist, graduated 1937 *
Alice Stewart Alice Mary Stewart, ''née'' Naish (4 October 190623 June 2002) was a British physician and epidemiologist specialising in social medicine and the effects of radiation on health. Her study of radiation-induced illness among workers at the Hanfo ...
, epidemiologist who revolutionized the understanding of radiation risk, graduated 1899 *
Mary Sturge Mary Darby Sturge (16 October 1862 – 14 March 1925) was a British medical doctor, known for her pioneering work with alcoholism and championing the importance of preventative medical care. She is credited as being the second woman doctor in B ...
, graduated 1891 * Ethel Vaughan-Sawyer, gynaecological surgeon *
Alice Vickery Alice Vickery (also known as A. Vickery Drysdale and A. Drysdale Vickery, ''c.'' 1844 – 12 January 1929) was an English physician, campaigner for women's rights, and the first British woman to qualify as a chemist and pharmacist. She and her ...
, the first British woman to qualify as chemist and druggist * Jane Elizabeth Waterston, in first graduating class, 1880; known as first woman doctor in South Africa. * Elizabeth Mary Wells, missionary and doctor in East Africa *
Lucy Wills Lucy Wills, LRCP (10 May 1888 – 26 April 1964) was an English haematologist and physician researcher. She conducted seminal work in India in the late 1920s and early 1930s on macrocytic anaemia of pregnancy. Her observations led to her di ...
, discovered nutritional factor in yeast (folate), which prevented macrocytic anaemia in pregnancy. * Helen Mary Wilson, physician and social campaigner. * Helena Rosa Wright, surgeon, birth control pioneer both in the UK and internationally, graduated 1914


Merger with University College Hospital Medical School

From 1947 the school admitted men and was renamed the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. It faced possible closure several times, but continued to operate independently until 1998, when it merged with the University College Hospital Medical School to create the Royal Free and University College Medical School. This is now the
UCL Medical School UCL Medical School is the medical school of University College London (UCL), a public research university in London, England. The school provides a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education programmes and also has a medical ...
. The building later housed the British College of Acupuncture and the Hunter Street Health Centre in 2008.


See also

* New Hospital for Women, also founded by Elizabeth Garrett Anderson * Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women *
Women in medicine The presence of women in medicine, particularly in the practicing fields of surgery and as physicians, has been traced to the earliest of history. Women have historically had lower participation levels in medical fields compared to men with occu ...
*
Henrietta Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley Henrietta Maria Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley (née Dillon-Lee; 21 December 1807 – 16 February 1895), was a British Canadian-born political hostess and campaigner for the education of women in England. She was a founder and ben ...
, one of the campaigners for the London School of Medicine for Women.


References

;Bibliography * * * * * *


External links


Archives of the Royal Free Hospital

Lists of London School of Medicine for Women studentsThe Global Library of Women's Medicine
{{DEFAULTSORT:London School of Medicine Medical schools in London Former colleges of the University of London History of medicine in the United Kingdom Universities and colleges established in 1874 Former women's universities and colleges in the United Kingdom Women in London 1874 establishments in England Women in medicine