Encyclopedias: Spartacus Educational: The Emancipation of Women: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Description: Abstract - Born in Whitechapel, London in 1836. She discovered that the Society of Apothecaries did not specify that females were banned for taking their examinations and in 1865 sat and passed the examination. As soon as she was granted the certificate that enabled her to become a doctor, the Society changed their regulations to stop other women from entering the profession in this way. She established a medical practice in London and became active in Women's Rights. In 1902 she retired to Aldeburgh and in 1908 was elected mayor; the first woman mayor in England. She died in 1917.