Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Born 1836 · Age 189
English physician and suffragist; first woman in Britain to qualify as a physician and surgeon; co‑founder and long‑time dean of the London School of Medicine for Women; founder of the New Hospital for Women; first female mayor in England.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Whitechapel, London
Elizabeth Garrett (later Garrett Anderson) was born in Whitechapel, London, second of eleven children of Newson and Louisa Garrett.
Family moved to 142 Long Acre
At about age three the Garrett family moved to 142 Long Acre and lived there for two years while her father advanced in his career.
Family moved to Suffolk (Snape) — father's business change
Newson Garrett moved the family to Suffolk to buy a barley and coal merchant business; began building Snape Maltings (from 1846) and the family settled in Aldeburgh.
Family prosperous; Alde House constructed
By 1850 Newson Garrett was prosperous enough to build Alde House; the Garrett children grew up in an economically successful household.
Finished private schooling; visited Great Exhibition
After finishing at the Boarding School for Ladies in Blackheath, Elizabeth and her sister toured abroad and attended the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park.
Visit to Gateshead; met Emily Davies
During a long visit to Gateshead she met Emily Davies, an early feminist and future co‑founder of Girton College, a lifelong friend and adviser.
Met Elizabeth Blackwell in London
When Elizabeth Blackwell visited London, Garrett travelled to hear her and attended lectures, an encounter that helped spark Garrett's determination to enter medicine.
Began six‑month probation as a surgery nurse at Middlesex Hospital
Garrett began hands‑on medical training as a surgery nurse at Middlesex Hospital and gained access to clinics and operations; started private tutoring in anatomy and physiology.
Removed from Middlesex Hospital amid student opposition
Male medical students formally petitioned against her admittance; she was obliged to leave formal studies at Middlesex though she left with an honours certificate in chemistry and materia medica.
Admitted to sit examinations at Society of Apothecaries (Apothecaries' Hall)
Using a loophole (the Apothecaries' charter did not legally prohibit women), Garrett was admitted to sit the licentiate examinations by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries.
Father threatened legal action to secure her right to sit Apothecaries' exam
Her father Newson Garrett threatened legal action to pressure the Society of Apothecaries to allow Elizabeth to sit their licentiate exam, instrumental in her ability to qualify.
Passed LSA exam and became first British woman to qualify to practise openly
Garrett took the Society of Apothecaries' exam, passed with the highest marks among successful candidates, and obtained a licence (LSA) to practise medicine in Britain.
Society of Apothecaries closed loophole after her qualification
Immediately after Garrett gained her licence the Society amended its regulations to disallow privately educated women from taking the exam, blocking the same route for others.
Offered a teaching role at Bedford College; application rebuffed
She applied to teach physiology at Bedford College in 1865 but the council deemed the subject unsuitable for women; an example of institutional resistance she encountered.
Opened private practice at 20 Upper Berkeley Street, London
Unable to hold hospital posts as a woman, Garrett established her own practice late in 1865; patient numbers were small at first but grew steadily.
Cholera outbreak aided acceptance of female physician
A cholera outbreak in 1865–66 helped reduce some public prejudice and increased willingness to see a female doctor.
Name entered on Medical Register (second woman after Elizabeth Blackwell)
Garrett entered the medical register (sources note 1866 registration after LSA); this formalized her status as a practicing physician.
Opened St Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children (69 Seymour Place)
She founded an outpatient dispensary to provide medical help to poor women from a female practitioner; in its first year she tended 3,000 new patients and 9,300 outpatient visits.
Elected to the first London School Board (highest votes)
Garrett was elected to the newly constituted London School Board in 1870 — the first time women were eligible — and received the highest vote among candidates.
Appointed visiting physician to East London Hospital for Children
She became the first woman in Britain appointed to a hospital medical post when named visiting physician to this children’s hospital (later Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children).
Awarded M.D. from the University of Paris (Sorbonne)
After studying French and pursuing further study in Paris, Garrett obtained an MD from the Sorbonne, strengthening her academic credentials.
Married James George Skelton Anderson
She married James George Skelton Anderson of the Orient Steam Navigation Company; she continued her medical career after marriage.
Appointed Elizabeth Blackwell to NHW (mentor as professor)
Garrett Anderson appointed Elizabeth Blackwell (her mentor and the first US female physician) as professor of gynaecology at the New Hospital for Women (sources indicate Garrett welcomed Blackwell into the hospital's teaching roles).
Elected to the London School Board — served until ~1873
Garrett served on the School Board (elected 1870) but found this incompatible with her clinical work and new motherhood and resigned by 1873.
St Mary's Dispensary became the New Hospital for Women and Children
The dispensary she founded expanded into the New Hospital for Women and Children, treating women for gynaecological and other conditions.
Founded the New Hospital for Women (expanded service & staffing by women)
From the dispensary grew a hospital staffed by women; Garrett later oversaw expansion and commissioning of purpose‑built facilities.
Gained membership of the British Medical Association (BMA)
Garrett was accepted into the BMA in 1873, becoming one of the first women to join the association.
Birth of daughter Louisa Garrett Anderson (future physician and suffrage activist)
Louisa Garrett Anderson, who later became a pioneering doctor and militant suffragette, was born in 1873.
New Hospital for Women moved to Marylebone Street premises
The hospital expanded into new premises in Marylebone Street (moved in 1874), continuing to develop as a women‑staffed institution.
Co‑founded the London School of Medicine for Women
Together with Sophia Jex‑Blake and others, Garrett helped found the London School of Medicine for Women (initially the only hospital teaching women), later the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine.
Publicly opposed Henry Maudsley's 'Sex and Mind in Education' views
Garrett countered Maudsley's argument that higher education harmed women's health, arguing boredom and lack of exercise were greater dangers; she published rebuttals and engaged in the debate.
Applied to the Obstetrical Society and faced exclusion
Her attempt to become a fellow of the Obstetrical Society prompted the Society to change its rules and close membership to women, another example of institutional resistance.
Birth of daughter Margaret (died 1875)
Margaret was born in 1874 and died in 1875 of meningitis; a personal tragedy for Garrett Anderson.
Medical Act (39 & 40 Vict, Ch. 41) allowed licensing regardless of gender
This 1876 Act allowed British medical authorities to license qualified applicants irrespective of sex, opening the door for future women physicians.
Birth of son Alan Garrett Anderson
Her son Alan Garrett Anderson was born in 1877 (he later died 1952).
Motion proposed to exclude women from the BMA
Following the election of Garrett Anderson and Frances Hoggan, a motion to exclude women was proposed at the BMA; it was opposed by some (e.g., Norman Kerr).
BMA attempted exclusion; later reversal shows long campaign impact
The 1878 attempt to exclude women from the BMA and the successful campaign to readmit women in 1892 illustrate Garrett Anderson’s long‑term influence over medical professional organisations.
First female dean of a British medical school (LSMW)
At appointment as dean of the London School of Medicine for Women in 1883, she became the first woman to hold such a deanery in Britain.
Became dean of the London School of Medicine for Women
Garrett was appointed dean of the London School of Medicine for Women, becoming the first female dean of a British medical school; she served until 1902.
Purpose‑built hospital commissioned on Euston Road / Somers Place West (New Hospital for Women)
The New Hospital for Women commissioned a purpose‑built building (architect J. M. Brydon); sources note a new building on Somers Place West off the Euston Road opened around 1890.
Women readmitted to the British Medical Association
After campaigning by Garrett Anderson and colleagues, the BMA reversed prior exclusions and readmitted women at the Nottingham meeting in 1892.
Elected president of the East Anglian branch of the BMA
Garrett Anderson served as president of the East Anglian branch of the British Medical Association in 1897.
Published 'The Ethics of Vivisection' in Edinburgh Review
She wrote in July 1899 defending regulated animal experimentation for scientific progress, arguing against cruelty.
Retired from deanship; returned to Aldeburgh
Garrett Anderson stepped down as dean of the London School of Medicine for Women in 1902 and retired from active London practice, moving back toward Aldeburgh.
End of deanship at LSMW (retired from post in 1902)
Garrett Anderson stepped down as dean in 1902 after nearly two decades of leadership.
Moved into Alde House after mother's death
Following the death of her mother, Garrett Anderson moved into Alde House in Aldeburgh where she devoted time to gardening and family.
Death of husband James G. Skelton Anderson
Her husband died of a stroke in 1907; Garrett Anderson thereafter became more active in public life and suffrage work until 1911.
Elected Mayor of Aldeburgh (first female mayor in England)
On 9 November 1908 she was elected mayor of Aldeburgh, becoming the first female mayor in Britain; her father had also served as mayor in 1889.
Withdrew from militant suffrage activities
After increasingly militant tactics in the suffrage movement escalated, Garrett Anderson withdrew from activist leadership in 1911.
Died in Aldeburgh
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson died on 17 December 1917 in Aldeburgh and was buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul's Church.
New Hospital for Women renamed Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (posthumous honor)
In 1918 the New Hospital for Women was renamed to honor Garrett Anderson’s pioneering role in women's medicine.
Archives and recognition (ongoing preservation)
Her personal and hospital archives later became held by institutions such as the Women's Library at LSE and the London Metropolitan Archives (dates of deposit vary).
Hospital amalgamated to form Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital amalgamated with the Obstetric Hospital in 2001 to form a combined institution (later part of UCLH wing).
Google Doodle commemorated her 180th birthday
On 9 June 2016 Google celebrated Garrett Anderson’s 180th birthday with a Doodle, reflecting her lasting public recognition.
University of Worcester medical building named after her (announced)
The new medical school building at the University of Worcester was announced to be called the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building, slated to accept first students in 2023.
First students due at University of Worcester Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building
The new University of Worcester medical school (Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Building) was due to accept its first students in 2023, continuing her legacy in medical education.
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