A 1869 advertisement in The Scotsman, placed by Sophia Jex-Blake, acted as a catalyst for female medical education in the United Kingdom. Seeking others to join her pursuit of a degree at the University of Edinburgh, she transformed personal ambition into a national campaign that challenged the exclusion of women from professional practice.
Early influences and American visit
Born in 1840 at Hastings, Jex-Blake was initially educated at home and later at Queen's College, London, where she served as a mathematics tutor. Her interest in professional training crystallized during a 1865 visit to the United States. While working as an assistant at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston, she met Dr. Lucy Ellen Sewall, an experience that confirmed her ambition to pursue a medical career.
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Jex-Blake applied to the University of Edinburgh in March 1869. Although the university court initially rejected her, a subsequent application by a group of five women, including Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Edith Pechey, and Isabel Thorne, secured their admission. Known as the Edinburgh Seven, the cohort eventually expanded to include Mary Adamson Anderson and Emily Bovell. However, the opposition remained fierce, culminating in the 1870 Surgeons' Hall riot, where an aggressive crowd pelted the students with mud and rubbish during an anatomy examination.
Professional legacy
Following the collapse of the Edinburgh campaign in 1873, legal rulings barred the women from graduating. Jex-Blake shifted her focus to founding medical schools in London and Edinburgh to provide the training unavailable elsewhere. She eventually attained her goals, becoming one of the first practising female doctors in the United Kingdom. Her career combined roles as a writer, journalist, teacher, and suffragist until her death in 1912 at Mark Cross, with her burial taking place at Rotherfield.
Fast facts
- Born: 1840, Hastings
- Died: 1912, Mark Cross
- Education: University of Edinburgh, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin
- Key grouping: Edinburgh Seven
- Primary occupations: physician, journalist, teacher, suffragist
- Employer: The Scotsman
- Burial place: Rotherfield
Questions readers ask
What was the Surgeons' Hall riot?
A violent confrontation on 18 November 1870, where a mob of over 200 people obstructed female medical students from sitting an anatomy examination.
Did Jex-Blake succeed in graduating from Edinburgh?
No. Despite being the first British university to admit women, legal challenges prevented the women from completing their degrees at the university.
Achievements
- Held posts at The Scotsman
