Elizabeth garrett anderson biography

Elizabeth Garret Anderson aged 30  ©Anderson was a pioneering physician and political campaigner, the first Englishwoman to qualify as a doctor.

Elizabeth Garrett was born in Whitechapel, east London, one of the 12 children of a pawnbroker.

During her childhood her father became a successful businessman, enabling him to send his children to good schools. After school she was expected to marry well and live the life of a lady. However meetings with the feminist Emily Davies and Elizabeth Blackwell, the first American woman physician, convinced Elizabeth Garrett that she should become a doctor.

This was unheard of in 19th century Britain and her attempts to study at a number of medical schools were denied.

She enrolled as a nursing student at Middlesex Hospital and attended classes intended for male doctors, but was barred after complaints from other students. As the Society of Apothecaries did not specifically forbid women from takin