Madeleine-Françoise Calais facts for kids

Madeleine-Françoise Calais was a pioneering French dentist. She is famous for being the very first woman to get a special license to practice dentistry from the important Surgical Society of Paris. This happened around 1740.

About Her Life

Madeleine-Françoise Calais was born in Paris, France, around 1713 or 1714. When she was about 23 years old, in 1737, she began studying dentistry. Her teacher was a dentist named Claude Jacquier de Géraudly, also from Paris. She finished her studies in 1740.

Her Dental Career

In 1740, Madeleine-Françoise wanted to start her own dental practice. To do this, she needed a special license. She applied to the Surgical Society of Paris, which was a very important group of surgeons and medical professionals. She was about 27 years old at the time.

Madeleine-Françoise passed all the required tests with flying colors. She also had excellent recommendations from people she had helped. However, the Surgical Society was unsure about giving her a license. Even though there was no rule saying women couldn't be dentists, no woman had ever received a license before.

So, the Surgical Society asked for advice from important officials, including Guillaume-François Joly de Fleury from the Paris Parlement (which was like a high court). Some officials supported her, like Pelletier and Gabriel Bachelier. At first, the king's royal surgeon, François Gigot de la Peyronie, was against her request. But he soon changed his mind. He realized that women had very few ways to earn a living legally. He believed that hard-working and smart women should be given opportunities to support themselves.

Because of this support, Madeleine-Françoise Calais was finally granted her license in 1740. She was then able to open her own dental practice. She became quite successful, especially with her female patients. She is remembered as a brave and important figure who opened doors for women in the medical field.