Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson | |
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New Hospital for Women London School of Medicine for Women |
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English
Early life
Elizabeth was born in Whitechapel, London, and was the second of eleven children of Newson Garrett (1812–1893), from Leiston, Suffolk, and his wife, Louisa (born Dunnell; c. 1813–1903), from London.[3][4]
Her paternal ancestors had been ironworkers in East Suffolk since the early seventeenth century.[5] Newson was the youngest of three sons and not academically inclined, although he possessed the family's entrepreneurial spirit. When he finished school, Newson found few opportunities in Leiston, so he moved to London to make his fortune. There, he fell in love with his brother's sister-in-law, Louisa Dunnell, the daughter of an innkeeper of Suffolk origin. After their wedding, the couple went to live in a pawnbroker's shop at 1 Commercial Road, Whitechapel. The Garretts had their first three children in quick succession: Louie, Elizabeth, and a son, Dunnell, who died at the age of six months.[6] When Garrett was three years old, the family moved to 142 Long Acre, where they lived for two years, while one more child was born and her father advanced in his career, becoming not only the manager of a larger pawnbroker's shop, but also a silversmith.[7] Garrett's grandfather, owner of the family engineering works, Richard Garrett & Sons, had died in 1837, leaving the business to his eldest son, Garrett's uncle. Despite his lack of capital, Newson was determined to be successful and in 1841, at the age of 29, he moved his family to Suffolk, where he bought a barley and coal merchants business in Snape, constructing Snape Maltings from 1846.[8]
The Garretts lived in a square Georgian house opposite the church in
Early education
There was no school in Aldeburgh, so Garrett learned reading, writing, and arithmetic from her mother. When she was 10 years old, a governess, Miss Edgeworth, a poor gentlewoman, was employed to educate Garrett and her sister. Mornings were spent in the schoolroom; there were regimented afternoon walks; educating the young ladies continued at mealtimes when Edgeworth ate with the family; at night, the governess slept in a curtained off area in the girls' bedroom. Garrett reportedly despised her governess and sought to outwit the teacher in the classroom.
Later in life, Garrett recalled the stupidity of her teachers there, though her schooling there did help establish a love of reading.
After this formal education, Garrett spent the next nine years tending to domestic duties, but she continued to study Latin and arithmetic in the mornings and also read widely. Her sister Millicent recalled Garrett's weekly lectures, "Talks on Things in General", when her younger siblings would gather while she discussed politics and current affairs from
Medical education
After an initial unsuccessful visit to leading doctors in Harley Street, Garrett decided to first spend six months as a surgery nurse at Middlesex Hospital, London in August 1860.[4][21] On proving to be a good nurse, she was allowed to attend an outpatients' clinic, then her first operation. She unsuccessfully attempted to enroll in the hospital's Medical School but was allowed to attend private tuition in Latin, Greek and pharmacology with the hospital's apothecary, while continuing her work as a nurse. She also employed a tutor to study anatomy and physiology three evenings a week. Eventually she was allowed into the dissecting room and the chemistry lectures. Gradually, Garrett became an unwelcome presence among the male students, who in 1861 presented a memorial to the school against her admittance as a fellow student, despite the support she enjoyed from the administration.[4][22] She was obliged to leave the Middlesex Hospital but she did so with an honours certificate in chemistry and materia medica. Garrett then applied to several medical schools, including Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews and the Royal College of Surgeons, all of which refused her admittance.[4][23]
A companion to Garrett in this effort was the lesser known
In 1865, Garrett finally took her exam and obtained a licence (LSA) from the Society of Apothecaries to practise medicine, the first woman qualified in Britain to do so openly (previously there was Dr
Career
Though she was now a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries, as a woman, Garrett could not hold a medical post in any hospital. So in late 1865, Garrett opened her own practice at 20 Upper
The same year she was elected to the first
BMA membership
In 1873, Garrett gained membership of the British Medical Association (BMA). In 1878, a motion was proposed to exclude women following the election of Garrett Anderson and Frances Hoggan. The motion was opposed by Dr Norman Kerr who maintained the equal rights of members.[43] This was "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."[44] In 1892, women were again admitted to the British Medical Association. In 1897, Garrett Anderson was elected president of the East Anglian branch of the BMA.[45]
Garrett Anderson worked steadily at the development of the New Hospital for Women and Children and in 1874 co-founded and served as dean[4] of the London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW). Both institutions were handsomely and suitably housed and equipped. The New Hospital for Women commissioned a building in the Euston Road; the architect was J. M. Brydon,[46] who took into his employment Anderson's sister Agnes Garrett and her cousin Rhoda Garrett, who contributed to its design.[47] For many years, the hospital was staffed entirely by medical women. The schools (in Hunter Street, WC1) had 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.[38]
Women’s suffrage movement
Garrett Anderson was also active in the
Personal life
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson once remarked that "a doctor leads two lives, the professional and the private, and the boundaries between the two are never traversed".
They retired to Aldeburgh in 1902,[53] moving to Alde House in 1903, after the death of Elizabeth's mother. Skelton died of a stroke in 1907.[4] She enjoyed a happy marriage and in later life, devoted time to Alde House, gardening, and travelling with younger members of the extended family.[54]
On 9 November 1908, she was elected mayor of Aldeburgh, the first female mayor in England.[55] Her father had been mayor in 1889.
She died in 1917 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh.[44]
Legacy
The New Hospital for Women was renamed the
The former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital buildings are incorporated into the new National Headquarters for the public service trade union
The critical care centre at Ipswich Hospital was named the Garrett Anderson Centre in her honour and in recognition of her connection to the county of Suffolk.
The new medical school at the University of Worcester, due to accept its first students in 2023, is to be called the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building.[58]
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, a secondary school for girls in Islington, London, is named after her.
The archives of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson are held at the Women's Library at the London School of Economics.[59] The archives of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (formerly the New Hospital for Women) are held at the London Metropolitan Archives.[60]
On 9 June 2016, Google Doodle commemorated her 180th birthday.[61]
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme of the NHS Leadership Academy is a master's degree in leadership and management.[62]
References
- ^ James Barry, who lived as a man, qualified before her. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman registered by the General Medical Council in the UK, having qualified in the United States. Frances Hoggan preceded Anderson as the first British woman to qualify in Europe, having qualified in Switzerland.
- ^ "UCL Bloomsbury Project". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Manton, p. 20
- ^ ISBN 978-0-262-15031-6.
- ^ Manton, p. 17
- ^ Manton, p. 22
- ^ Manton, p. 23
- ^ Manton, p. 25
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53628. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Manton, p. 28
- ^ Manton, pp. 28–32
- ^ Manton, pp. 32–33
- ^ Manton, p. 33
- ^ Ogilvie, Marilyn B (1986). Women in Science: Antiquity Through the Nineteenth Century: a Biographical Dictionary with Annotated Bibliography. MIT Press.
- ^ Manton, pp. 35–36
- ^ Manton, pp. 35–36
- ^ Manton, p. 44
- ^ Manton, pp. 50–52
- ^ Manton, p. 72
- ^ Manton, pp. 73–76
- ^ Manton, pp. 82–93
- ^ Manton, pp. 104–110
- ^ Manton, pp. 114–115
- ^ JSTOR 2141537.
- ^ "Apothecaries Hall". Evening Standard: 5. 30 September 1862.
- ^ Millar, David, ed. (2002). Anderson, Elizabeth, née Garrett (1836 – 1917) (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press – via Credo Reference.
- ^ Manton, pp. 162–163
- ^ Manton, p. 176
- ^ British Medical Journal. British Medical Association. 1908. pp. 1079–.
- ISBN 978-0-313-38689-3.
- ^ Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1892). Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 40–.
- ^ Manton, pp. 167–169
- ^ Manton, p. 173
- ^ Manton, p. 175
- ^ Pioneering Physician, BBC, Last updated: 2 January 2008
- ^ Manton, pp. 193–195
- ^ Manton, p. 235
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 959. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Manton, p. 236
- ^ Manton, p. 237
- ^ Manton, pp. 241–243
- ^ Manton, p. 308
- ^ "British Medical Association". The Times. 9 August 1878. p. 7.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30406. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Manton, pp. 235–236
- ^ Goold, David. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (July 11, 2018, 12:41 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ^ "EGA for Women - The Elizabeth Garret Anderson Gallery". www.egaforwomen.org.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ^ Manton, p. 171
- ^ Manton, pp. 338–345
- ^ Manton, p. 345
- ^ Manton, p. 261
- ^ Manton, pp. 217–218
- ^ Manton, p. 331
- ^ "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: The Modern Woman". The Guardian Witness. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ "Aldeburgh Town Council: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson". Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ UCLH – Our hospitals – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital Archived 12 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine. uclh.nhs.uk
- ^ "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery".
- ^ "Finishing touches to turn former Worcester News office into uni training centre". 26 October 2022.
- ^ "7EGA".
- ^ Archives held at LMA Archived 30 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. ref H13/EGA. cityoflondon.gov.uk
- ^ "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson's 180th birthday". 9 June 2016.
- ^ "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme". NHS Leadership Academy. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
Further reading
- Anonymous (1873). "Dr. Garrett Anderson". Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day. Illustrated by Frederick Waddy. London: Tinsley Brothers. pp. 30–33. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- Crawford, Elizabeth (2002). Enterprising Women: The Garretts and their Circle. Francis Boutle Publishers. ISBN 978-1-903427-12-5. Archived from the originalon 10 October 2006. Retrieved 20 September 2002.
- Kellya, Laura (2017). "Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: early pioneer of women in medicine" (PDF). The Lancet. 390 (10113): 2620–2621. S2CID 54358673.
- Long, Tony. "28 Sep 1865: England Gets Its First Woman Physician, the Hard Way". Wired. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
- Manton, Jo (1965). Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: England's First Woman Physician. Methuen, London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Shearer, Barbara Smith; Shearer, Benjamin F. (1996). Notable women in the life sciences: a biographical dictionary. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313293023.