From Bern to Bombay, Edinburgh to London. Edith Pechey passed medicalexams at the University of Bern in January 1877, her thesis was titled “Upon the constitutional causes of uterine catarrh”. Pechey then joined the College of Physicians in Ireland in May 1877. She worked as a doctor in Leeds and set up the Medical Women’s […]

From higher education in Paris to new medical schools for women in the UK. In 1872 the Court of Session (the supreme civil court of Scotland) ruled that the University of Edinburgh could refuse to give the women degrees and that they shouldn’t have even been admitted in the first place. This marked the end […]

Despite support from some professors, media outlets and the general public (see Supporters post) Sophia Jex-Blake and her group faced fierce opposition from highly influential people in positions of tremendous power. Sir Robert Christison The most well-known, vehement and undoubtedly most authoritative of the Edinburgh seven’s opposers was Sir Robert Christison, a widely respected and […]

Whilst the Edinburgh Seven undoubtedly faced an immense amount of opposition during their attempts to pursue a medical career, they did equally receive a great deal of support. Lecturers // Professor Masson Jex-Blake’s initial unsuccessful application to study medicine at Edinburgh was met with great support from Professor Masson, a Professor of Rhetoric and English […]

Early life From an early age, Elsie Inglis was taught to fight against injustice and inspired with a determination to pursue her dreams. Born on the 16th August 1864, Elsie Maude Inglis spent her early years in India, where her father was employed in the Indian Civil Service. He was a strong supporter of women’s […]

Over a year after the Edinburgh Seven first matriculated they had been facing consistent opposition. They had people shouting at them in the streets, had to arrange to attend different lectures at the extra-mural medical college and in October 1870 they were denied permission to ‘walk the wards’ of the Infirmary. This was a decision […]

Born on 22nd September 1834 in London, Isabel Thorne was educated at Queens College, London. After finishing her studies at school, and following the early death of her father, she went on to hold several positions as a governess, providing private lessons in arithmetic and English. Shortly after becoming engaged, she married Joseph Thorne at […]

Edinburgh medical students will be familiar with the name Dr Pechey, as the name chosen by the Medical Teaching Organisation for their social media account, and it does not take much reading on Edith Pechey’s life to realise why. Pechey was born in Essex in 1845, her father was a minister and her mother was […]