Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: 1836-1917

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917), physician, feminist and champion of women’s medical education, played a key role in advancing the position of women in British professional life. Elizabeth’s determination to qualify as a doctor, despite the many obstacles put in her way by the all-male medical establishment, was characteristic of her strong sense of purpose. Eventually joining the medical register in 1865, she established the St Mary’s Dispensary for Women and Children in 1866, adding ten beds five years later as it became the New Hospital for Women. Staffed only by women, the hospital later moved to a purpose-built site on Euston Road and offered clinical experience to students at the London School of Medicine for Women. Through her tireless efforts, her chosen profession was opened to women. This 1939 biography by her daughter Louisa (1873-1943), herself a distinguished physician, is presented largely through Elizabeth’s own letters.