Physician and teacher. Born Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake in Hastings. She studied at the University of Edinburgh and led the campaign to give women access to university education. She was the first practising female doctor in Scotland and was involved in founding medical schools for women in Edinburgh and London.
1865-8 she was in the US to learn more about women's education and while there she became determined to become a doctor. Refused entry to Harvard on the basis of her gender she returned to the UK, and with a small group of women gained entry to Edinburgh, making it the first British university to admit women. They were harassed and bullied, culminating in a riot in 1870 outside the Surgeons' Hall in which they were sitting an examination. The University reneged on the agreement and refused to award degrees to the women. Many of the women went to European universities to complete their degrees.
Jex-Blake qualified in Berne and in Dublin, and returned to Edinburgh, where she set up as a doctor in 1878.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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