Sophia Jex-Blake. Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake (21 January 1840 – 7 January 1912) was an English physician, teacher and feminist. She was one of the first female doctors in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a leading campaigner for medical education for women and was involved in founding two medical schools for women, in London and in Edinburgh, where she also started a women's hospital. Early life[edit] Sophia Jex-Blake was born at 3 Croft Place Hastings, England on 21 January 1840, daughter of retired lawyer Thomas Jex-Blake, a proctor of Doctors' Commons, and Mary Jex-Blake née Cubitt.[1] Her brother was Thomas Jex-Blake, future Dean of Wells Cathedral. She attended various private schools in southern England and in 1858 enrolled at Queen's College, London, despite her parents' objections. Medical career[edit] Jex Blake spent a few months studying with private tutors in Edinburgh.
United States[edit] Struggling to become a doctor[edit] Later career[edit] Personal life[edit] Relatives[edit] Edinburgh Seven. Surgeons' Hall, Edinburgh, where the women studied anatomy, and scene of the Surgeons' Hall Riot The Edinburgh Seven were the first group of women medical students at a university in the United Kingdom.[1] They fought to study medicine at Edinburgh University, in Scotland, and to be allowed to graduate.
In 1869 they were allowed to attend specially-arranged classes, but in 1873 they lost a legal challenge against the University after it had decided they could not be awarded degrees. The group may also be called Septem contra Edinam (Seven against Edinburgh). 1869-1873[edit] Although university education for British women was barely possible in 1869,[2] Sophia Jex-Blake was granted permission to attend lectures at the Edinburgh medical school. Thorne and Chaplin had already studied midwifery in London, while Pechey had tried to qualify with the Society of Apothecaries, but been thwarted. The five were allowed to matriculate at Edinburgh in October 1869 and begin their studies. Sources[edit] Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women.
Coordinates: 55°56′49″N 3°11′02″W / 55.947°N 3.184°W / 55.947; -3.184 The Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women was founded by Dr Sophia Jex-Blake in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1886, with support from the National Association for Promoting the Medical Education of Women. It was 10 years since the first British women had been licensed to practise as doctors, and female medical education was in its early days; it would be another 6 years before Scottish universities would admit women students.
Jex-Blake had friends in Edinburgh, as well as opponents, from her earlier unsuccessful campaign to persuade the University of Edinburgh to educate women in their medical school. She arranged for the new women students to gain clinical experience at Leith Hospital. Her uncompromising approach to discipline led to problems. Elsie Inglis left the School and set up an alternative nearby: the Medical College for Women.
In 1892, Scottish universities opened their doors to women. See also[edit] Www.rcpe.ac.uk/journal/issue/journal_35_3/somerville_jex blake.pdf. Careers and Women. I told my parents I wanted to study Medicine. They refused me to do this. Among other things it was "unsexing". They said they thought I had not the brains to pass the examinations, nor the physical stamina for the hard work involved in the seven years study. One evening my mother came into my room to talk to me. 'If you are still thinking of being a doctor, you'd better give it up at once. The Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women.