Blanche Edwards-Pilliet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Blanche Edwards-Pilliet
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Blanche Edwards-Pilliet, 1888
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| Born | 1858 |
| Died | 1941 (aged 82–83) |
| Nationality | French |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physician |
Blanche Edwards-Pilliet (1858–1941) was a French doctor, a medical teacher, and a leading social reformer for women. She was one of the first women to work as an intern in a hospital in Paris, alongside Augusta Déjerine-Klumpke.
Early Life and Education
Blanche Edwards-Pilliet was taught at home by her father, Doctor George Hugh Edwards. He was a very educated British man. Blanche grew up speaking both French and English. She also learned mathematics, science, and classical subjects.
When she was 19, she passed two important exams in France. These were the baccalauréat-ès-lettres in 1877 and the baccalauréat-ès-sciences in 1878. Passing these exams allowed her to join the medical school in Paris.
Becoming a Doctor
In 1885, Blanche Edwards-Pilliet wanted to become a hospital intern. An intern is a doctor who is still training in a hospital. More than 90 doctors and interns signed a petition against her. They did not want her to be an intern because she was a woman.
However, the Paris city council decided to hear her case. On July 31, a French lawyer named Eugène Poubelle supported her. This allowed her to work in Parisian hospitals. There was one condition: she could not use her intern title to take the final exams to become a full doctor. But she did take them anyway!
Her Medical Career
Blanche Edwards-Pilliet became a specialist in surgery. It was very hard for her to succeed, especially as a woman. But she won a prize for her medical paper. This helped her open her first doctor's office in 1889. She worked there for the next 50 years.
In 1892, she got married and later had three children. She also taught medicine at a school. Even though she was paid very little, she kept teaching. She was the only woman at that time to be offered a medical teaching job by the Public Hospital System in France.
For 40 years, she was a professor at the School for Training Male and Female Nurses. This school was located at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and Bicêtre Hospital.
Blanche Edwards-Pilliet passed away in 1941 when she was 82 years old.
Fighting for Change
Blanche Edwards-Pilliet was a strong supporter of women's rights. She spent a lot of her time working for social changes, especially for women and children.
In 1901, she started an organization called The Ligue des Mères de Famille. This was one of the first Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in France. Many other social groups in France later grew from her organization.
She was also a member of the Parti radical, a political group that supported women's suffrage. Women's suffrage means the right for women to vote. On Christmas Day in 1912, she had dinner in Paris with a famous British suffragette leader named Christabel Pankhurst. Other guests included Jessie Murray Clark, Dorothy Hapgood, Irene Dallas, and Hilda Dallas. A newspaper called The Suffragette reported that the evening ended with everyone singing a protest song called “The March of the Women.”
In 1930, she was chosen as the vice president of one of the Paris sections of the Parti radical. In 1924, she also received a special honor called Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour).
See also
In Spanish: Blanche Edwards-Pilliet para niños
