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Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: The first woman in Britain to become a doctor

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman in Britain to qualify as a doctor - Corbis Historical
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman in Britain to qualify as a doctor - Corbis Historical

To celebrate 100 years since British women were given the right to vote, The Telegraph – alongside the Mayor of London’s #BehindEveryGreatCityCampaign – is running a weekly series. ‘Hidden Credits’ looks back and celebrate individual women who have smashed glass ceilings, helped change society for the better and given the UK’s capital something to boast about.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was a woman of firsts. Not only was she the first woman in Britain to qualify as a physician and surgeon, she was also the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, and helped pave the way for future generations of women to work in the British medical industry.

Anderson’s achievements are testament to her passion to become a doctor, but it’s her determination with which she broke down the barriers she faced, that have ensured her a place in feminist history.

Born June 9 1836, Anderson was one of 12 children all raised in Whitechapel, east London, by their mother, a housewife, and father who was a pawnbroker turned businessman.

Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (left) with The English suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst  - Credit:  Hulton Archive
Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (left) with suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst Credit: Hulton Archive

Anderson was also the sister of Millicent Fawcett, who became a leading figure in the suffragette movement for women’s right to vote.

In Victorian Britain, the expectation was for women to marry and “live the life of a lady” – a status quo that, for Anderson, couldn’t have been more unappealing. After a meeting with Dr Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor to graduate in the United States, by chance after making acquaintance with her on a visiting trip to London, she was inspired, and at the age of 23, set her sights on following suit.

However, her initial attempts pursue her studies at medical school fell short when she was denied entry from each that she approached – simply for being a woman.

The expectation was for women to marry and 'live the life of a lady' – a status quo that, for Anderson, couldn’t have been more unappealing

Her only option was to enroll at the Middlesex Hospital in Fitzrovia as a nursing student, where she attended lectures intended solely for male students. However, after a few weeks, and following complaints by colleagues, Anderson found herself barred.

Yet, all was not lost. When Anderson discovered that the Society of Apothecaries, which oversaw medical licensing, did not specifically forbid women from taking their examinations, she studied for them alone and, in 1865, gained the certificate that enabled her to become a doctor.

A year later, she established a dispensary for women in London, and was made a visiting physician to the East London Hospital four years later, in 1870.

Anderson’s next endeavour was to gain that elusive medical degree. But, still unable to enrol at any British university, she taught herself French in order to study medicine at the University of Paris.

Once graduated, in 1872, Anderson founded the New Hospital for Women in London, which she staffed entirely with female doctors.

Four years later, Anderson’s example was used by parliamentarians to pass the 1876 Enabling Act that allowed women to enter medical professions.

After retirement, Anderson relocated to Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast, where she died on December 17 1917, aged 81. For years, she had been the town’s mayor – the first women to hold the position, naturally enough.