Brief Profile

Sophia Louise Jex-Blake was born in Hastings on 21st January 1840. She was described as “brilliant, hot tempered and resourceful” and was a tireless campaigner for women’s education, most particularly for medical education. She challenged the academic establishment at Edinburgh University Medical School when she applied for entry in 1869, and along with the four other women she had recruited, she was eventually allowed to matriculate. A milestone in women’s history. Regrettably, hostility from male students and professors, including rioting at Surgeons’ Hall, prevented the women from attending lectures or sitting examinations. Nor were they allowed to graduate.

However, after graduating from the University of Berne and being licensed to practice in Dublin, Jex-Blake was able to register with the General Medical Council.

She was the first practising female medical doctor in Scotland. She set up the Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children and went on to co-found two medical schools for women, in Edinburgh and London.

She died in Sussex on 7th January 1912.

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