Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836–1917) was a pioneering British physician, feminist, and suffragist who became the first woman to qualify as a physician and surgeon in Britain. Facing numerous obstacles due to her gender, she persisted in her pursuit of a medical career, attending medical lectures in secret and eventually gaining acceptance to the Society of Apothecaries in 1865. However, as they didn’t allow women to take their exams, she trained in Paris and qualified as a doctor there in 1865.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Quotes

1. “I was only halfway to the record and it seemed like it took me a long time. I feel like that one will never be broken. That record will never be touched.”
— Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

2. “I think he will probably come round in time, I mean to renew the subject pretty often.”
— Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

3. “At first he was very discouraging, to my astonishment then, but now I fancy he did it as a forlorn hope to check me; he said the whole idea was so disgusting that he could not entertain it for a moment.”
— Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Returning to London, Anderson founded the New Hospital for Women, providing medical care exclusively by women. She also played a key role in the establishment of the London School of Medicine for Women, which enabled more women to pursue medical education. Anderson’s tireless advocacy for women’s rights in medicine and society paved the way for future generations of female physicians and contributed significantly to the advancement of women in healthcare and beyond.