Lucy Wills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucy Wills
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Wills in an undated photo
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| Born | 10 May 1888 Sutton Coldfield, England, U.K.
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| Died | 26 April 1964 (aged 75) Canterbury, England, U.K.
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| Nationality | British |
| Education | Cheltenham Ladies' College Newnham College London School of Medicine for Women |
| Occupation | Haematologist |
| Known for | Pregnancy research |
Lucy Wills (born May 10, 1888 – died April 26, 1964) was a British doctor and medical researcher. She made a very important discovery in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Dr. Wills found a way to prevent and treat a serious health problem called macrocytic anaemia, which often affected pregnant women.
Macrocytic anaemia is a condition where red blood cells become larger than normal. This can be very dangerous, especially for pregnant women who don't get enough nutrients from their food. Lucy Wills discovered that a special nutrient found in yeast could help these women. This nutrient was first called the 'Wills factor' and later identified as folate, which is a natural form of folic acid. Her work helped save many lives and improved prenatal care for women around the world.
Dr. Lucy Wills: A Pioneer in Health
Early Life and Family
Lucy Wills was born on May 10, 1888, in Sutton Coldfield, England. Her family had lived near Birmingham for many years. Her great-grandfather was a successful lawyer, and her grandfather owned a tool-making business. Lucy's father, William Leonard Wills, was a science graduate who loved nature, including plants, animals, and rocks. Her mother, Gertrude Annie Wills, came from a family of doctors. This strong interest in science ran through the family. Lucy's brother, Leonard Johnston Wills, also became a very successful geologist.
Lucy grew up in the countryside near Birmingham. She first attended a local school called Tanglewood. Her family was well-off, which meant she had opportunities for a good education.
Education and Medical Training
In Lucy Wills's time, it was not common for girls to go to university or become professionals like doctors. However, things were slowly changing. Lucy was fortunate to attend some of the best schools for women.
Studying at Cambridge
In September 1903, Lucy went to Cheltenham Ladies' College. This was one of the first schools in Britain to teach science and math to girls. She did very well in her exams there. In 1907, she started studying at Newnham College, which was a college for women at Cambridge University. She studied botany (the study of plants) and geology (the study of rocks and the Earth). She finished her studies in 1911. Even though she passed all her university exams, women were not allowed to officially receive a degree from Cambridge University back then.
Becoming a Doctor
After her studies, Lucy faced some personal losses. Her father passed away in 1911, and her elder sister died in 1913. She traveled with her mother and brother to places like Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and South Africa. In 1914, she volunteered as a nurse in a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, during the start of World War I.
In January 1915, Lucy decided to pursue a career in medicine. She enrolled at the London School of Medicine for Women. This was a very important school because it was the first in Britain to train female doctors. Many students from India also studied there. By December 1920, at the age of 32, Lucy Wills became a fully qualified medical doctor.
Research in India: Solving a Mystery
After becoming a doctor, Lucy Wills chose to focus on research and teaching at the Royal Free Hospital in London. She was particularly interested in how pregnancy affected women's health.
Understanding Anaemia
In 1928, Dr. Wills traveled to India to begin a very important research project. She was asked to join a study on maternal health by the Indian Research Fund Association. Her task was to investigate a severe type of anaemia that was common among pregnant women in India, especially poorer women working in textile factories who often had poor diets. This condition made their red blood cells larger than normal, which is why it's called macrocytic anaemia.
Lucy Wills spent several years in India, mainly working at the Haffkine Institute in Mumbai. She also worked at the Pasteur Institute of India in Coonoor and a hospital in Madras (now Chennai). She traveled back to England for short periods to continue her lab work. In 1937, she made another working visit to India, traveling by air, which was a new and exciting way to travel at the time.
Dr. Wills noticed that there was a clear link between what pregnant women ate and whether they developed anaemia. Poor Muslim women in Bombay, who had the most limited diets, were also the most likely to suffer from this anaemia.
The "Wills Factor" Discovery
At first, this anaemia was thought to be similar to another serious condition called pernicious anaemia. However, Lucy Wills discovered that the anaemia she was studying was different. Patients with her type of anaemia did not respond to the "pure" liver extracts (which contained vitamin B12) that treated true pernicious anaemia. She believed there had to be another missing nutrient causing this problem.
To test her ideas, Dr. Wills conducted experiments. She fed albino rats a diet similar to that of the women in Bombay. These rats became anaemic, and pregnant rats often died. But when she added yeast to their diet, the anaemia was prevented. She later repeated these studies with rhesus monkeys to confirm her findings.
Back in Bombay, Lucy Wills started giving yeast extracts to her patients with macrocytic anaemia. She found that these extracts, especially a cheap one called Marmite, could both prevent and cure the condition! For many years, this vital nutrient was known as the 'Wills Factor'. Later, in the 1940s, scientists identified it as folate, which is now widely known as folic acid.
Later Career and Global Impact
After her groundbreaking work in India, Lucy Wills returned to the Royal Free Hospital in London in 1938. She worked there until she retired in 1947. During World War II, she served as a full-time pathologist, helping with medical services during the war. She even established the first haematology (blood disease) department at the Royal Free Hospital.
Even after retiring, Dr. Wills continued her passion for research. She traveled extensively to places like Jamaica, Fiji, and South Africa. She kept studying nutrition and anaemia in different populations. In Fiji, for example, she helped conduct the first major study on the nutritional health of women and children. Her recommendations led to important changes, like providing free iron tablets to pregnant women and starting feeding programs in schools to improve children's protein intake.
Her Personal Life and Lasting Legacy
Lucy Wills never married, but she had close relationships with her family and many lifelong friends. She was known for being independent, intelligent, and a joyful teacher. People described her as someone who loved nature, enjoyed traveling, and had a great sense of humor. She was also a keen walker and skier.
Lucy Wills passed away on April 26, 1964. Her work on tropical macrocytic anaemia is still recognized as a landmark discovery in medicine. Her identification of the "Wills factor" paved the way for understanding the importance of folic acid, which is now a crucial part of prenatal care for women worldwide.
In 2019, on the 131st anniversary of her birth, Google honored Lucy Wills with a special Google Doodle. This celebrated her as a pioneering medical researcher whose work changed how we prevent anaemia in pregnant women.
Images for kids
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Water beads on the waxy cuticle of kale leaves
