London School of Medicine for Women facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) was the first medical school in Britain created to train women doctors. It started in 1874. People who supported the school wanted to give educated women a chance to learn and practice medicine. This included caring for women and children. They also wanted to help these women find jobs as doctors.

In 1877, the Royal Free Hospital began accepting women students from LSMW. This allowed them to finish their practical training. By 1896, the school changed its name to the London Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for Women. It then became part of the University of London.

Later, in 1998, the school joined with the University College Hospital Medical School. Their new name was the Royal Free and University College Medical School. In 2008, this name became shorter: UCL Medical School.

History of the School
Important Founders
Notable Graduates
Joining Other Medical Schools
See also

History of the School

London School of Medicine for Women, Hunter Street.

The school was started in 1874 by several brave women doctors. These included Sophia Jex-Blake, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Emily Blackwell and Elizabeth Blackwell. Thomas Henry Huxley also helped.

One main reason for starting the school was that Sophia Jex-Blake had tried to get a medical degree. She was not allowed to study at British medical schools because she was a woman. She was even asked to leave Edinburgh University. Other women who had studied with Jex-Blake in Edinburgh joined her at the London school. This included Isabel Thorne. She later took over as honorary secretary in 1877. Sophia Jex-Blake then moved to Edinburgh. There she started the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women in 1886.

Royal Free Hospital – School of Medicine for Women, Hunter Street.

A new law, the UK Medical Act of 1876, was very important. It changed an older law. This new act allowed medical groups to give licenses to all qualified people, no matter if they were men or women. This was a big step for women in medicine.

In 1877, an agreement was made with the Royal Free Hospital. This allowed students from the London School of Medicine for Women to do their practical training there. The Royal Free Hospital was the first teaching hospital in London to accept women for medical training.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the Dean (leader) of the school from 1883 to 1903. During her time, the school was rebuilt. It became part of the University of London. Its link with the Royal Free Hospital also grew stronger. In 1896, the school was officially renamed the London (Royal Free Hospital) School of Medicine for Women.

In 1894, a famous Indian woman, Rukhmabai, became a doctor after studying at the London School of Medicine for Women. More and more Indian women came to study. By 1920, the school even opened a special place for Indian women students to live.

In 1914, the school grew even more. Many women wanted to study medicine. So, the school had to double its laboratories and classrooms. At that time, over 300 students were enrolled. This made it the largest university college for women in Britain.

In 1998, the school joined with the University College Hospital's medical school. They formed the UCL Medical School.

Important Founders

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She was born in Bristol, England, in 1821. Her family moved to America in 1832.

Elizabeth became interested in medicine after talking to a dying friend. Her friend said she would have felt better with a female doctor. Elizabeth started teaching to earn money. She also learned about medicine from two doctors who lived with her family.

In 1847, Elizabeth applied to many colleges. Most rejected her because she was a woman. She was finally accepted by Geneva College. Despite facing difficulties, she worked hard. She graduated first in her class.

Elizabeth then returned to New York City. She opened a small clinic. She helped train women nurses for hospitals during the Civil War. In 1869, she moved back to England. From 1875 to 1877, she taught about women's health at the new London School of Medicine for Women.

Sophia Jex-Blake

Sophia Jex-Blake was born in Hastings, UK, in 1840. She wanted to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. However, the university did not allow women to attend. Sophia fought this decision in court, but she did not win.

Her struggles helped lead to a new law in 1889. This law allowed women to get medical degrees. Because of this, Sophia Jex-Blake became one of the first female doctors in the UK. She then helped start both the London School of Medicine for Women and the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was born in London. She received a good education. She decided to become a doctor after meeting Elizabeth Blackwell. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson applied to several medical schools but was rejected.

She then trained as a nurse at Middlesex Hospital. In 1866, she became a medical assistant at St. Mary's Dispensary. Still wanting to be a doctor, she successfully earned a medical degree in France.

When she returned to London, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson helped start the New Hospital for Women. She also helped found the London School of Medicine for Women. She later became the Dean (leader) of the London School in 1883. She helped the school grow a lot. The school was later renamed the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. It eventually became part of the University of London.

Notable Graduates

Dame Louisa Aldrich-Blake, first woman in Britain to earn a Master of Surgery degree.
Florence Barrett, surgeon at Mothers' Hospital and Royal Free Hospital, graduated 1906.
Diana Beck, brain surgeon at Middlesex Hospital, graduated 1925.
Julia Bell, human geneticist, graduated 1920.
Rosemary Biggs, blood specialist, graduated 1943.
Margery Blackie, homeopath to Queen Elizabeth II, graduated 1923.
Mary Alice Blair, surgeon with the Scottish Women's Hospital, graduated 1910.
Margaret Boileau, doctor and surgeon from Norfolk, graduated 1906.
Ruth Bowden, anatomy professor, graduated 1940.
Fanny Jane Butler, in first graduating class (1880); first English, fully trained medical missionary in India.
Dame Hilda Bynoe, Governor of Grenada, graduated 1951.
Phillis Emily Cunnington, historian on costume and fashion, graduated 1918.
Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon, a founder of epidemiology (study of diseases), graduated 1901.
Eleanor Davies-Colley, surgeon, first female FRCS, graduated 1907.
Katharine Dormandy, blood specialist, graduated 1951.
Eva Frommer, child psychiatrist, graduated 1952.
Frances Gardner, heart specialist, graduated 1940.
Louisa Garrett Anderson, co-founder of Women's Hospital for Children, graduated circa 1897.
Mary Gordon, first British female prison inspector, graduated 1890.
Mary Esther Harding, Jungian psychoanalyst, graduated 1910.
Dorothy Christian Hare, medical director of the Women's Royal Naval Service.
Charlotte Leighton Houlton, chief medical officer, Women's Medical Service of India (1935–1939).
Jerusha Jhirad, first Indian woman with a degree in obstetrics and gynaecology, graduated 1919.
Una Ledingham, expert on diabetes and pregnancy, graduated 1927.
Katharine Lloyd-Williams, anaesthetist, graduated 1926.
Margaret Lowenfeld, child psychologist, graduated 1918.
Isabella Macdonald Macdonald, graduated in 1888, one of the first few women in the UK to do so.
Helen Mackay, first female fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
Flora Murray, co-founder of Women's Hospital for Children, graduated circa 1895.
Christine Murrell, first female member of the British Medical Association Central Council, graduated 1899.
Doris Lyne Officer, graduated 1921.
Elizabeth Margaret Pace, gynaecologist, graduated 1891.
Sylvia Payne, president of the British Psychoanalytical Society.
Innes Hope Pearse, co-founder of the Pioneer Health Centre, graduated 1915.
Frances Helen Prideaux, known as "one of the most distinguished students" of the School, graduated 1884.
Gladys Maud Sandes, surgeon, graduated 1922.
Sophia Seekings Friel, one of the first Maternity and Child Welfare Inspectors.
Edith Shove, graduated 1882.
Honor Smith, neurologist, graduated 1937.
Alice Stewart, epidemiologist who changed understanding of radiation risk, graduated 1899.
Mary Sturge, graduated 1891.
Ethel Vaughan-Sawyer, gynaecological surgeon.
Alice Vickery, first British woman to qualify as chemist and druggist.
Jane Elizabeth Waterston, in first graduating class (1880); first woman doctor in South Africa.
Elizabeth Mary Wells, missionary and doctor in East Africa.
Lucy Wills, discovered a nutritional factor in yeast (folate) that prevented a type of anaemia in pregnancy.
Helen Mary Wilson, physician and social campaigner.
Helena Rosa Wright, surgeon, graduated 1914.

Joining Other Medical Schools

The London School of Medicine for Women almost closed several times. But it kept going on its own until 1998. That year, it joined with the University College Hospital Medical School. They created the Royal Free and University College Medical School. This is now known as the UCL Medical School.

The old building of the London School of Medicine for Women later housed the British College of Acupuncture. In 2008, it also became the Hunter Street Health Centre.