9th June: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, first female doctor in the UK was born on 9 June 1836.

1. When Elizabeth was born, her father was a pawnbroker, and the family lived above his shop in Commercial Road, Whitechapel. Later, he went into the corn and coal business and became very successful. The family then moved to Aldeburgh in Suffolk.
2. Elizabeth and her elder sister were home schooled at first, initially by their mother and later by a governess. At 13, she was sent to school in Blackheath, London, along with her sister. Elizabeth was not impressed with her governess or the teachers at her school. Although she gained a love of reading, she would have preferred more maths and science to be taught at the school.
3. Although her father was keen for his daughters to have a good education, they weren't expected to actually use it. After she finished school, Elizabeth returned home and was expected to help run the home until she found a suitable husband. This wasn't enough for the intelligent and energetic Elizabeth, who continued her studies in Latin and arithmetic. She would gather her ten siblings together for weekly lectures and discussions on current affairs.
4. On visits to London, Elizabeth met two women who would have a profound effect on her life. One was Emily Davies, a feminist, who introduced her to the women's rights movement; and Elizabeth Blackwell, who was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the USA.
5. At first, no medical school would accept her as a student, so she became a nurse at Middlesex Hospital and attended the lectures for the male doctors. However, the male students complained and had her banned from the lecture theatre. By then, though, she had managed to obtain an honours certificate in chemistry and materia medica. Meanwhile, she privately obtained a certificate in anatomy and physiology.
6. Her next strategy was to study with the Society of Apothecaries, which did not specifically ban women from qualifying, and their certificate would enable her to become a doctor. As soon as she qualified, the society changed the rules so that no more women could study with them.
7. Although now qualified, no hospital would employ her as a doctor, so she opened her own practice in London.
8. Elizabeth found out that the University of Sorbonne in Paris was in favour of admitting female medical students, so she learned French so that she could go and study there. All her hard work was finally rewarded in 1870, when she got her medical degree.
9. Medicine was not her only passion - politics was another. She remained involved in the women's right movement and became a member of the militant Women's Social and Political Union at the age of 72. She went on protest marches, narrowly escaping being arrested, and lecture tours. In 1866, Elizabeth and Emily Davies presented petitions signed by more than 1,500 asking that female heads of household be given the vote.
10. She was not only the first female doctor in the UK but also the first female mayor, when she was elected mayor of Aldeburgh in 1908.