Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA
, MD
(9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917), was an English physician
and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.
(1812–1893), a grain merchant and maltster of Aldeburgh
, Suffolk, and his wife, Louisa née Dunnell (1813–1903). Elston, "Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett (1836–1917)", Her younger sister, Millicent Fawcett
, became a leader of the constitutional campaign for women's suffrage. She was also the niece of Louisa's sister, Elizabeth Dunnell, who married Richard Garrett III, the famous owner of Richard Garrett & Son. Elizabeth was taught at home and at Queen's College, London
.
, London, but she was refused. She studied anatomy privately at the Royal London Hospital
and with some of the professors at the University of St Andrews
, and at the Edinburgh Extra-Mural school. After she obtained her diploma
, London University
, the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons, and many other examining bodies refused to admit her to their examinations. In the end, the Society of Apothecaries allowed her to enter for the License of Apothecaries' Hall, which she obtained in 1865. This entitled her to have her name entered on the medical register
, the second woman after Elizabeth Blackwell
, and the first woman qualified in Britain to do so.
, and there Dr Garrett worked for over twenty years. In 1870, she obtained the degree of MD
from University of Paris
, three months after Frances Hoggan
obtained that qualification. The same year she was elected to the first London School Board
, at the head of the poll for Marylebone
, and was also made one of the visiting physicians of the East London Hospital for Children; but the duties of these two positions she found to be incompatible with her principal work, and she soon resigned them. She also built a medical school for women.
and remained the only woman member for 19 years, due to the Association's vote against the admission of further women – "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."
Elizabeth worked steadily at the development of the New Hospital for Women, and (from 1874) at the creation of the London School of Medicine for Women
. Both institutions have since been handsomely and suitably housed and equipped, the New hospital for Women (in the Euston Road
) for many years being worked entirely by medical women, and the schools (in Hunter Street, WC1) having over 200 students, most of them preparing for the medical degree of London University (the present-day University College London
), which was opened to women in 1877. In 1897 Dr Garrett Anderson was elected president of the East Anglia
n branch of the British Medical Association
.
On 9 November 1908 she was elected mayor
of Aldeburgh
, the first female mayor in England.
Garret was a suffragette and advocate of the movement for the admission of women to the medical profession. She died in 1917 and is buried in Aldeburgh.
at UCH.
The former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital buildings are being incorporated into the design and structure of the new National Headquarters for the public service trade union UNISON.
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery, a permanent installation set within the restored former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital building that now forms part of the new UNISON Centre, uses a variety of media to set the story of Elizabeth 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.
There is a secondary school in Islington, London which is named after her: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College For Girls.
co-owned by his uncle Arthur Anderson
, but she did not give up her practice. She had three children, Louisa
, Margaret, who died of meningitis, and Alan
. Louisa also became a pioneering doctor of medicine and social campaigner.
In 1861 Elizabeth visited her family accompanied by her friend Emily Davies
. Sitting by the fireside with her sister Millicent
they selected careers for advancing the frontiers of women's rights, Elizabeth took Medicine, Emily took education, and 13 year old Milly was allocated politics and votes for women.
, ref 7EGA
The archives of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (formerly the New Hospital for Women) are held at the London Metropolitan Archives http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Records_and_archives/records_held.htm ref H13/EGA.
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...
, MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917), was an English physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.
Early life
Garrett was born in 1836 at 1 Commercial Road, Whitechapel, London, the second of the ten children of Newson GarrettNewson Garrett
Newson Garrett , was a maltster and brewer instrumental in the revival of the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk, of which he became mayor at the end of his life...
(1812–1893), a grain merchant and maltster of Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
, Suffolk, and his wife, Louisa née Dunnell (1813–1903). Elston, "Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett (1836–1917)", Her younger sister, Millicent Fawcett
Millicent Fawcett
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, GBE was an English suffragist and an early feminist....
, became a leader of the constitutional campaign for women's suffrage. She was also the niece of Louisa's sister, Elizabeth Dunnell, who married Richard Garrett III, the famous owner of Richard Garrett & Son. Elizabeth was taught at home and at Queen's College, London
Queen's College, London
Queen's College is an independent school for girls aged 11–18. It is located in central London at numbers 43-49, Harley Street. Founded in 1848 by F. D. Maurice, Professor of English Literature and History at King's College London along with a committee of patrons, the College was the first...
.
Education
In 1860, Garrett initially attempted to study medicine at Middlesex HospitalMiddlesex Hospital
The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, United Kingdom. First opened in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally closed in 2005. Its staff and services were transferred to various sites...
, London, but she was refused. She studied anatomy privately at the Royal London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
and with some of the professors at the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, and at the Edinburgh Extra-Mural school. After she obtained her diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
, London University
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
and Surgeons, and many other examining bodies refused to admit her to their examinations. In the end, the Society of Apothecaries allowed her to enter for the License of Apothecaries' Hall, which she obtained in 1865. This entitled her to have her name entered on the medical register
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
, the second woman after Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female doctor in the United States and the first on the UK Medical Register...
, and the first woman qualified in Britain to do so.
Career
In 1866 she was appointed general medical attendant to St Mary's Dispensary, a London institution started to enable poor women to obtain medical help from qualified practitioners of their own gender. The dispensary soon developed into the New Hospital for WomenNew Hospital for Women
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital was a hospital in Bloomsbury, London in the United Kingdom. It was operated by the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.-History:...
, and there Dr Garrett worked for over twenty years. In 1870, she obtained the degree of MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, three months after Frances Hoggan
Frances Hoggan
Frances Elizabeth Hoggan MD was the first British woman to receive a doctorate in medicine from a university in Europe, and the first female doctor to be registered in Wales....
obtained that qualification. The same year she was elected to the first London School Board
London School Board
The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
, at the head of the poll for Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
, and was also made one of the visiting physicians of the East London Hospital for Children; but the duties of these two positions she found to be incompatible with her principal work, and she soon resigned them. She also built a medical school for women.
BMA membership
In 1873 she gained membership of the British Medical AssociationBritish Medical Association
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
and remained the only woman member for 19 years, due to the Association's vote against the admission of further women – "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."
Elizabeth worked steadily at the development of the New Hospital for Women, and (from 1874) at the creation of the London School of Medicine for Women
London School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women was established in 1874 and was the first medical school in Britain to train women.The school was formed by an association of pioneering women physicians Sophia Jex-Blake, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Emily Blackwell and Elizabeth Blackwell with Thomas Henry...
. Both institutions have since been handsomely and suitably housed and equipped, the New hospital for Women (in the Euston Road
Euston Road
Euston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756...
) for many years being worked entirely by medical women, and the schools (in Hunter Street, WC1) having over 200 students, most of them preparing for the medical degree of London University (the present-day University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
), which was opened to women in 1877. In 1897 Dr Garrett Anderson was elected president of the East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
n branch of the British Medical Association
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
.
On 9 November 1908 she was elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club...
, the first female mayor in England.
Garret was a suffragette and advocate of the movement for the admission of women to the medical profession. She died in 1917 and is buried in Aldeburgh.
Institutions
The New Hospital for Women was renamed the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in 1918 and amalgamated with the Obstetric Hospital in 2001 to form the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital before relocating to become the University College Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson WingUniversity College Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing
The University College Hospital Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing is a maternity and neonatal service at University College Hospital in Bloomsbury, London in the United Kingdom...
at UCH.
The former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital buildings are being incorporated into the design and structure of the new National Headquarters for the public service trade union UNISON.
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery, a permanent installation set within the restored former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital building that now forms part of the new UNISON Centre, uses a variety of media to set the story of Elizabeth 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.
There is a secondary school in Islington, London which is named after her: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Language College For Girls.
Personal life
In 1871 she married James George Skelton Anderson (d. 1907) of the Orient Steamship CompanyPeninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
co-owned by his uncle Arthur Anderson
Arthur Anderson (businessman)
Arthur Anderson was a Scottish businessman and Liberal politician. He was co-founder of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company .-Career:...
, but she did not give up her practice. She had three children, Louisa
Louisa Garrett Anderson
Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson CBE was a medical pioneer, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, a suffragette, and social reformer. She was the daughter of the founding medical pioneer Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. Her aunt, Dame Millicent Fawcett was a British suffragist...
, Margaret, who died of meningitis, and Alan
Alan Garrett Anderson
Sir Alan Garrett Anderson GBE DL was a British civil servant and shipowner.- Early life and career:Anderson was born in 1877 to James George Skelton Anderson and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. Anderson's father was a shipping magnate who merged the family shipping business, Anderson, Anderson & Co.,...
. Louisa also became a pioneering doctor of medicine and social campaigner.
In 1861 Elizabeth visited her family accompanied by her friend Emily Davies
Emily Davies
Sarah Emily Davies was an English feminist, suffragist and a pioneering campaigners fore women's rights to university access. She was born in Southampton, England to an evangelical clergyman and a teacher in 1830, although she spent most of her youth in Gateshead...
. Sitting by the fireside with her sister Millicent
Millicent Fawcett
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, GBE was an English suffragist and an early feminist....
they selected careers for advancing the frontiers of women's rights, Elizabeth took Medicine, Emily took education, and 13 year old Milly was allocated politics and votes for women.
Archives
The archives of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson are held at The Women's Library at London Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
, ref 7EGA
The archives of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (formerly the New Hospital for Women) are held at the London Metropolitan Archives http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Leisure_and_culture/Records_and_archives/records_held.htm ref H13/EGA.
Further reading
- Manton, Jo. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: England's First Woman Physician. Methuen, London 1965
- Long, Tony, "Sept. 28, 1865: England Gets Its First Woman Physician, the Hard Way, Wired, 27 September 2007.