Maude Abbott
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Maude Elizabeth Seymour Abbott (March 18, 1868Sources disagree on the date of Abbott's birth. The
Canadian Encyclopedia
'
Maude Abbott Medical Museum
and the

' are among the sources that support a birthdate of 18 March 1868. However, articles in the
Canadian Journal of Cardiology
', the
Canadian Medical Association Journal
', and
CHEST Journal
' all give a birth date of 1869, as do her death certificate and gravestone.
– September 2, 1940) was a Canadian physician, among
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's earliest female medical
graduates Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
, and an internationally known expert on
congenital heart disease A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular ...
. She was one of the first women to obtain a BA from
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
.


Early life and education

Maude Elizabeth Seymour Babin was born in St. Andrews East, on 18 March 1868. Both of her parents were absent during infancy, as her mother had died of tuberculosis when Abbott was 7 months old and her father had abandoned her and her older sister, Alice. The two sisters were legally adopted and raised by their maternal grandmother, Mrs. William Abbott, who was then 62. She was a cousin of
John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abbot ...
, Canada's third Prime Minister. Abbott was home schooled until she was 15 years old. In 1885, she graduated from a private Montreal seminary high school. Abbott was admitted to McGill University's Faculty of Arts, with a scholarship, even though she had previously been rejected, and received her BA in 1890, graduating as class valedictorian and receiving the Lord Stanley Gold Medal. She subsequently applied to study medicine at McGill University. Admission was refused despite petitioning the faculty first privately and then publicly as the medical school administration was adamant in their refusal to accept a woman. She was then accepted into medical school at
Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...
and while there, was able to undertake clinical training at the
Montreal General Hospital The Montreal General Hospital (MGH) (french: Hôpital Général de Montréal) is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada established in the years 1818-1820. The hospital received its charter in 1823. It is currently part of the McGill University ...
alongside medical students from McGill. In 1894, she received her M.D., C.M. with honours, and the only woman in her class. She received the Chancellor's Prize, and Senior Anatomy Prize for having the best final examination.


Career

Later in 1894, she opened her own practice in Montreal, worked with the Royal Victoria hospital, and was nominated and elected as the Montreal Medico-Chirurgical Society's first female member. Some time afterwards, she did her post-graduate medical studies in Vienna. In 1897, she opened an independent clinic dedicated to treating women and children. There, she did much first-hand research in
pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
. Much of Abbott's work concerned the nature of heart disease, especially in newborn babies. This would cause her to be recognized as a world authority on heart defects. In 1898, she was appointed Assistant Curator at the McGill Pathological Museum, becoming curator 1901. In 1905, she was invited to write the chapter on 'Congenital Heart Disease' for
William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for spec ...
's ''System of Modern Medicine''. He declared it "the best thing he had ever read on the subject." The article would place her as the world authority in the field of congenital heart disease. In 1906, she co-founded the International Association of Medical Museums, with Osler. She became its international secretary in 1907. She would edit the institutions articles for thirty-one years (1907-1938). In 1910, Abbott was awarded an honorary medical degree from McGill and was made a lecturer in Pathology; this was eight years prior to the university admitting female students to the Faculty of Medicine. After a much conflict with Dr. Horst Oërtel, she left McGill to take up a position at the
Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
in 1923. In 1925, Abbott returned to McGill becoming an Assistant Professor. In 1924, she was a founder of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada, a Canadian organization committed to the professional, social and personal advancement of women physicians. In 1936, she wrote the ''Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease''. The work illustrated a new classification system and described records of over a thousand cases of clinical and postmortem records. The same year she retired from her professorial position. Abbott was a prolific writer, composing over 140 papers and books.Laurtenian Heritage WebMagazine
cites it as over 100, whil

suggests over 140.
She also gave countless lectures.


Death and legacy

On 2 September 1940, Abbott died from a
brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
, in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. In 1943,
Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
painted her in his mural for the National Institute of Cardiology of Mexico City. She was the only Canadian, and the only woman depicted in the work. In 1958, the
International Academy of Pathology The International Academy of Pathology, originally called the International Association of Medical Museums (IAMM), is an institution dedicated "to the advancement of Pathology". In 1906, it was established by Dr. William Osler and Maude Abbott. Its ...
established the 'Maude Abbott Lecture'. In 1993, she was named a "Historic Person" by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and a plaque was erected outside the McIntyre Medical Sciences Building at McGill University in Montreal. In 1994, she was posthumously inducted into the
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__ The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, O ...
. In 2000, a bronze plaque was erected in her honour on the McIntyre Medical Building. In the same year,
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...
issued a forty-six cent postage stamp entitled ''The Heart of the Matter'' in her honour. McGill University Health Centre has also recognized Abbott by naming their congenital heart defect clinic the “Maude Clinic”. The clinic has carried her name proudly for many years - originally at the Royal Victoria Hospital site and now continuing at the new M.U.H.C. Glen site.


Awards and honours

* Chancellor's Prize, 1894. * Senior Anatomy Prize, 1894. * Lord Stanley Gold Medal, 1890. * McGill class valedictorian, 1890.


Selected works

* ''The Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease'' (Originally published in New York by the American Heart Association in 1936. A reprint was published by McGill-Queen's University Press in 2006 in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Academy of Pathology." () * * * * * * * * *
''"An early Canadian biologist, Michel Sarrazin (1659–1735))—His life and times"''
In: '. 1928 Nov; 19(5): 600–607, p. 600–607—A review of Arthur Vallée's "Un biologiste canadien,
Michel Sarrazin Michel Sarrazin (5 September 1659 – 8 September 1734), was an early Canadian surgeon, physician, scientist and naturalist. Born in Nuits-sous-Beaune in the province of Burgundy, he immigrated at age 25 to the colony of New France as a surgeon. ...
(1659–1739). Sa vie, ses travaux, et son temps"


See also

*
List of pathologists A list of people notable in the field of pathology. A * John Abercrombie, Scottish physician, neuropathologist and philosopher. * Maude Abbott (1869–1940), Canadian pathologist, one of the earliest women graduated in medicine, expert in co ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links


Video on Maude Abbott by the Canadian Medical Hall of FameMaude Abbott Collection
at the
Osler Library of the History of Medicine The Osler Library, a branch of the McGill University Library and part of ROAAr since 2016, is Canada's foremost scholarly resource for the history of medicine, and one of the most important libraries of its type in North America. It is located i ...
, Montreal. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Maude 1868 births 1940 deaths 19th-century Canadian physicians 20th-century Canadian physicians Anglophone Quebec people Bishop's University alumni Canadian adoptees Canadian women physicians McGill University alumni McGill University faculty Canadian pathologists Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Laurentides 20th-century women physicians 19th-century women physicians 20th-century Canadian women scientists