Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
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Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...
. She is known for being the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon and as a co-founder and dean of the
London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supp ...
, which 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. She was the first female dean of a British medical school, the first woman in Britain to be elected to a
school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
and, as mayor of
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...
, the first female mayor in Britain.


Early life

Elizabeth was born in
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
, London, and was the second of eleven children of
Newson Garrett Newson Garrett (31 July 1812 – 4 May 1893) was an English malting, maltster, instrumental in the revival of the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, of which he became mayor at the end of his life. His daughter Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Elizabeth be ...
(1812–1893), from
Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, and his wife, Louisa (born Dunnell; 1813–1903), from London. Her paternal ancestors had been
ironworker An ironworker is a tradesman who works in the iron-working industry. Ironworkers assemble the structural framework in accordance with engineered drawings and install the metal support pieces for new buildings. They also repair and renovate o ...
s in East Suffolk since the early seventeenth century. Newson was the youngest of three sons and not academically inclined, although he possessed the family's entrepreneurial spirit. When he finished school, Newson found few opportunities in Leiston, so he moved to London to make his fortune. There, he fell in love with his brother's sister-in-law, Louisa Dunnell, the daughter of an innkeeper of Suffolk origin. After their wedding, the couple went to live in a
pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as Collateral (finance), collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typic ...
's shop at 1
Commercial Road Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), throug ...
,
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
. The Garretts had their first three children in quick succession: Louisa, Elizabeth, and a son, Dunnell, who died at the age of six months. When Garrett was three years old, the family moved to 142
Long Acre Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its Coach_(carriage), co ...
, where they lived for two years, while one more child was born and her father advanced in his career, becoming not only the manager of a larger pawnbroker's shop, but also a
silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...
. Garrett's grandfather, owner of the family engineering works,
Richard Garrett & Sons Richard Garrett & Sons was a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, steam engines and trolleybuses. Their factory was Leiston Works, in Leiston, Suffolk, England. The company was founded by Richard Garrett (1755–1839), Richard Garrett in ...
, had died in 1837, leaving the business to his eldest son, Garrett's uncle. Despite his lack of capital, Newson was determined to be successful and in 1841, at the age of 29, he moved his family to Suffolk, where he bought a barley and coal merchants business in Snape, constructing
Snape Maltings Britten Pears Arts is a large music education organisation based in Suffolk, England. It aims to continue the legacy of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, and to promote the enjoyment and experience of music for all ...
from 1846. The Garretts lived in a square Georgian house opposite the church in
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...
until 1852. Newson's malting business expanded and more children were born, Edmund (1840), Alice (1842), Agnes (1845), Millicent (1847), who was to become a leader in the constitutional campaign for women's suffrage, Sam (1850), Josephine (1853) and George (1854). By 1850, Newson was a prosperous businessman and was able to build Alde House, a mansion on a hill behind Aldeburgh. A "by-product of the industrial revolution", Garrett grew up in an atmosphere of "triumphant economic pioneering" and the Garrett children were to grow up to become achievers in the professional classes of late-
Victorian England In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...
. Elizabeth was encouraged to take an interest in local politics and, contrary to practices at the time, was allowed the freedom to explore the town with its nearby salt-marshes, beach and the small port of
Slaughden Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...
with its boatbuilders' yards and sailmakers' lofts.


Early education

There was no school in Aldeburgh, so Garrett learned reading, writing, and arithmetic from her mother. When she was 10 years old, a governess, Miss Edgeworth, a poor gentlewoman, was employed to educate Garrett and her sister. Mornings were spent in the schoolroom; there were regimented afternoon walks; educating the young ladies continued at mealtimes when Edgeworth ate with the family; at night, the governess slept in a curtained off area in the girls' bedroom. Garrett reportedly despised her governess and sought to outwit the teacher in the classroom. When Garrett was 13 and her sister 15, they were sent to a private school, the Boarding School for Ladies in
Blackheath, London Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich, London, G ...
, which was run by the step aunts of the poet
Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...
. There, English literature, French,
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and
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as well as deportment, were taught. Later in life, Garrett recalled the stupidity of her teachers there, though her schooling there did help establish a love of reading.Manton, pp. 35–36 Her main complaint about the school was the lack of science and mathematics instruction. Her reading there included works of
Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...
,
Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...
, Milton, Coleridge, Trollope, Thackeray and
George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
. Elizabeth and Louie were known as "the bathing Garretts", as their father had insisted they be allowed a hot bath once a week. However, they made what were to be lifelong friends there. When they finished in 1851, they were sent on a short tour abroad, ending with a memorable visit to the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
in Hyde Park, London. After this formal education, Garrett spent the next nine years tending to domestic duties, but she continued to study Latin and arithmetic in the mornings and also read widely. Her sister Millicent recalled Garrett's weekly lectures, "Talks on Things in General", when her younger siblings would gather while she discussed politics and current affairs from
Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
to Macaulay's ''History of England''. In 1854, when she was eighteen, Garrett and her sister went on a long visit to their school friends, Jane and Anne Crow, in
Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
where she met
Emily Davies Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist who founded Girton College, Cambridge. She campaigned as a suffragist and for women's rights to university education. In her early life, she attended meetings of the ...
, the early feminist and future co-founder of
Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...
, Cambridge. Davies was to be a lifelong friend and confidante, always ready to give sound advice during the important decisions of Garrett's career. It may have been in the '' English Woman's Journal'', first issued in 1858, that Garrett first read of
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 ...
, who had become the first female doctor in the United States in 1849. When Blackwell visited London in 1859, Garrett travelled to the capital. By then, her sister Louie was married and living in London. Garrett joined the
Society for Promoting the Employment of Women The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women (SPEW) was one of the earliest British women's organisations. The society was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon, Adelaide Anne Proctor and Lydia Becker to promote the ...
, which organised Blackwell's lectures on "Medicine as a Profession for Ladies" and set up a private meeting between Garrett and the doctor. It is said that during a visit to Alde House around 1860, one evening while sitting by the fireside, Garrett and Davies selected careers for advancing the frontiers of women's rights; Garrett was to open the medical profession to women, Davies the doors to a university education for women, while 13-year-old Millicent was allocated politics and votes for women. At first Newson was opposed to the radical idea of his daughter becoming a physician but came round and agreed to do all in his power, both financially and otherwise, to support Garrett.


Medical education

After an initial unsuccessful visit to leading doctors in
Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.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 ...
, London in August 1860. On proving to be a good nurse, she was allowed to attend an outpatients' clinic, then her first operation. She unsuccessfully attempted to enroll in the hospital's Medical School but was allowed to attend private tuition in Latin, Greek and
pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...
with the hospital's apothecary, while continuing her work as a nurse. She also employed a tutor to study
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
and
physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
three evenings a week. Eventually she was allowed into the dissecting room and the chemistry lectures. Gradually, Garrett became an unwelcome presence among the male students, who in 1861 presented a memorial to the school against her admittance as a fellow student, despite the support she enjoyed from the administration. She was obliged to leave the Middlesex Hospital but she did so with an honours certificate in chemistry and ''
materia medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...
''. Garrett then applied to several medical schools, including Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh,
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
and the
Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...
, all of which refused her admittance. A companion to Garrett in this effort was the lesser known
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 ...
. While both are considered "outstanding" medical figures of the late 19th century, Garrett was able to obtain her credentials by way of a "side door" through a loophole in admissions at the
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a me ...
. Having privately obtained a certificate in anatomy and physiology, she was admitted in 1862 by the Society of Apothecaries who, as a condition of their charter, could not legally exclude her on account of her sex. She was the only woman in the Apothecaries Hall who sat the exam that year. Among the 51 male candidates was William Heath Strange, who went on to found the Hampstead General Hospital, which was on the site now occupied by 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 ...
. She continued her battle to qualify by studying privately with various professors, including some at the University of St Andrews, the Edinburgh Royal Maternity and the London Hospital Medical School. In 1865, Garrett finally took her exam and obtained a licence (LSA) from the Society of Apothecaries to practise medicine, the first woman qualified in Britain to do so openly (previously there was Dr James Barry who was born and raised female but presented as male from the age of 20). On the day, three out of seven candidates passed the exam, Garrett with the highest marks. The Society of Apothecaries immediately amended its regulations to prevent other women obtaining a licence meaning that Jex-Blake could not follow this same path; the new rule disallowed privately educated women to be eligible for examination. It was not until 1876 that the new Medical Act (39 and 40 Vict, Ch. 41) passed, which allowed British medical authorities to license all qualified applicants whatever their gender.


Career

Though she was now a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries, as a woman, Garrett could not hold a medical post in any hospital. So in late 1865, Garrett opened her own practice at 20 Upper Berkeley Street, London. At first patients were scarce, but the practice gradually grew. After six months in practice, she wished to open an outpatients
dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...
, to enable poor women to obtain medical help from a qualified practitioner of their own gender. In 1865, there was an outbreak of cholera in Britain, affecting both rich and poor, and in their panic, some people forgot any prejudices they had in relation to a female physician. The first death due to cholera occurred in 1866, but by then Garrett had already opened St Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children, at 69 Seymour Place. In the first year, she tended to 3,000 new patients, who made 9,300 outpatient visits to the dispensary. On hearing that the Dean of the faculty of medicine at the
University of Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, Paris was in favour of admitting women as medical students, Garrett studied French so that she could apply for a medical degree, which she obtained in 1870 after some difficulty. The same year she was elected to the first
London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) was ...
, an office newly opened to women; Garrett's was the highest vote among all the candidates. Also in that year, she was made a visiting physician of the East London Hospital for Children (later the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children), becoming the first woman in Britain to be appointed to a medical post, but she found the duties of these two positions to be incompatible with her principal work in her private practice and the dispensary, as well as her role as a new mother, so she resigned from these posts by 1873. In 1872, the dispensary became the New Hospital for Women and Children, treating women from all over London for gynaecological conditions; the hospital moved to new premises in Marylebone Street in 1874. Around this time, Garrett also entered into discussion with male medical views regarding women. In 1874,
Henry Maudsley Henry Maudsley (5 February 183523 January 1918) was a pioneering English psychiatrist, commemorated in the Maudsley Hospital in London and in the annual Maudsley Lecture of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Life and career Maudsley was b ...
's article on Sex and Mind in Education appeared, which argued that education for women caused over-exertion and thus reduced their reproductive capacity, sometimes causing "nervous and even mental disorders". Garrett's counter-argument was that the real danger for women was not education but boredom and that fresh air and exercise were preferable to sitting by the fire with a novel. In the same year, she co-founded the
London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supp ...
with
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 ...
and became a lecturer in what was then the only teaching hospital in Britain to offer courses for women. She continued to work there for the rest of her career and was dean of the school from 1883 to 1902. This school was later called the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, and became part of the medical school of
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
.


BMA membership

In 1873, Garrett gained membership 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 ...
(BMA). In 1878, a motion was proposed to exclude women following the election of Garrett Anderson and
Frances Hoggan Frances Elizabeth Hoggan (''née'' Morgan; 20 December 1843 – 5 February 1927) was a Welsh doctor and in 1870 became the first woman from the UK to receive a doctorate in medicine from any university in Europe. She was a pioneering medical prac ...
. The motion was opposed by Dr Norman Kerr who maintained the equal rights of members. This was "one of several instances where Garrett, uniquely, was able to enter a hitherto all male medical institution which subsequently moved formally to exclude any women who might seek to follow her." In 1892, women were again admitted to the British Medical Association following a long campaign by Anderson and others. She, along with Dr Sarah Gray and Dr Eliza Walker Dunbar attended the BMA meeting at Nottingham that year, lobbying successfully for the readmission of women to the association. In 1897, Garrett Anderson was elected president of the East Anglian branch of the BMA. Garrett Anderson worked steadily at the development of the New Hospital for Women and Children and in 1874 co-founded and served as dean of the London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW). Both institutions were handsomely and suitably housed and equipped. The New Hospital for Women commissioned a building in the
Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...
; the architect was
J. M. Brydon John McKean Brydon (1840 – 25 May 1901) was a Scottish architect who developed a practice in designing public buildings, particularly hospitals, in London. He designed the St Peter's Hospital in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden (1880–84), the ...
, who took into his employment Anderson's sister Agnes Garrett and her cousin Rhoda Garrett, who contributed to its design. For many years, the hospital was staffed entirely by medical women. The schools (in Hunter Street, WC1) had over 200 students, most of them preparing for the medical degree of
London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
, which was opened to women in 1877.


Women’s suffrage movement

Garrett Anderson was also active in the
women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
. In 1866, Garrett Anderson and Davies presented petitions with more than 1,500 signatures asking that female heads of household be given the right to vote. That year, Garrett Anderson joined the first British Women's Suffrage Committee. She was not as active as her sister, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, though Garrett Anderson became a member of the Central Committee of the
National Society for Women's Suffrage The National Society for Women's Suffrage Manchester Branch The National Society for Women's Suffrage was the first national group in the United Kingdom to campaign for women's right to vote. Officially formed on 6 November 1867, by Lydia Becker ...
in 1889. After her husband's death in 1907, she became more active. As mayor of Aldeburgh, she gave speeches for suffrage, before the increasing militant activity in the movement led to her withdrawal in 1911. Her daughter Louisa, also a physician, was more active and more militant, spending time in prison in 1912 for her suffrage activities.


Personal life

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson once remarked that "a doctor leads two lives, the professional and the private, and the boundaries between the two are never traversed". In 1871, she married James George Skelton Anderson (died 1907) of the Orient Steam Navigation Company, but she did not give up her medical practice. She had three children, Louisa (1873–1943), Margaret (1874–1875), who died of
meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...
, and
Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...
(1877–1952). Louisa also became a pioneering doctor of medicine and feminist activist. They retired to Aldeburgh in 1902, moving to Alde House in 1903, after the death of Elizabeth's mother. Skelton died of a stroke in 1907. She enjoyed a happy marriage and in later life, devoted time to Alde House, gardening, and travelling with younger members of the extended family. On 9 November 1908, she was elected
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...
, the first female mayor in England. Her father had been mayor in 1889. She died in 1917 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh.


Legacy

The New Hospital for Women was renamed the
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female phys ...
in 1918 and amalgamated with the Obstetric Hospital in 2001 to form the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric HospitalUCLH – Our hospitals – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital
. uclh.nhs.uk
before relocating to become the University College Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing at UCH. The former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital buildings are incorporated into the new National Headquarters for the public service trade union
UNISON Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...
. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery, a permanent installation set within the restored hospital building, uses a variety of media to set the story of Garrett Anderson, her hospital, and women's struggle to achieve equality in the field of medicine within the wider framework of 19th and 20th century social history. The critical care centre at Ipswich Hospital was named the Garrett Anderson Centre in her honour and in recognition of her connection to the county of
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. The new medical school at the
University of Worcester The University of Worcester is a public research university, based in Worcester, England. With a history dating back to 1946, the university began awarding degrees in 1997 and was granted full university status in 2005. History In 1946 an Emerg ...
, due to accept its first students in 2023, is to be called the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, a secondary school for girls in Islington, London, is named after her. The archives of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson are held at the
Women's Library The Women's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, ...
at the London School of Economics. The archives of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (formerly the New Hospital for Women) are held at the
London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...
. On 9 June 2016,
Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...
commemorated her 180th birthday. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme of the NHS Leadership Academy is a master's degree in leadership and management.


References


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links


Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

BBC page on Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Picture of The United Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital and Hospital for Women Soho, near Euston Station in London.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett Anderson, Elizabeth 19th-century English medical doctors English feminists English suffragists Women of the Victorian era Mayors of places in Suffolk People from Aldeburgh People from Whitechapel 1836 births 1917 deaths Women mayors of places in England Members of the London School Board 19th-century English women medical doctors National Society for Women's Suffrage First women physicians First women mayors