Elizabeth Bell (doctor)
| Elizabeth (Eliza) Gould Bell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
24 Dec 1862 Newry, Ireland |
| Died |
9 July 1934 Belfast |
| Nationality | Irish, British |
| Other names | Elizabeth Fisher |
| Alma mater | Royal University of Ireland |
| Occupation | Doctor |
| Years active | 1893-1928 |
| Known for | First woman to qualify as a doctor in Ireland |
Elizabeth Gould Bell (24 Dec 1862–9 July 1934) was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Ireland. She was also a leading suffragette. She was a ‘pioneer of the feminist movement in Ireland’
Early life and education
Bell was born in Newry, Co. Down in 1862. She was the daughter of Joseph Bell. She had a brother and one sister who also qualified in medicine. Her sister worked as a GP in Manchester.[1][2][3]
She matriculated from Queen's college Belfast and in 1893 she graduated MB, BCh, BAO, RUI from Queen’s College, Royal University of Ireland.[1][4][2] She was Honorary Physician to the Woman's Maternity home in Belfast and the Babies Home at The Grove Belfast and was involved in the babies clubs welfare scheme.[4][3]
She published A Curious Condition of Placenta and Membranes for the British Medical Association.[3]
Family
She married Dr Hugh Fisher but he died soon into the marriage. She is a widow by the 1911 census. They had one son Hugo Bell Fisher born in 1898. As a Unionist, she volunteered to work for the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1916 and was put was in charge of the ward in a Malta hospital during the First World War. Her son died of his wounds after the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.[5][4][2][3]
Political activism
Dr Bell was a supporter of the women’s suffrage movement and a friend and ally of the Pankhursts and Lady Balfour, both prominent feminist figures of the time.[6] She was arrested on a trip to London in 1911 when she threw stones through department store windows as part of the demonstrations. She was imprisoned in Holloway Women’s Prison. She was member of the Belfast Irish Women’s Suffrage Society and the Women’s Social and Political Union. She acted as doctor for the suffragette prisoners in the Crumlin road Jail.[4][2]
She worked mostly in Belfast with patients who were women and children. She died in Belfast on 9 July 1934.[1][4][2]
References
- 1 2 3 Kelly 2012, p. 201.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Ulster Scots Women in History.
- 1 2 3 4 Malta RMAC.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Belfast Women 2011.
- ↑ Kelly 2012, p. 148.
- ↑ Kelly 2012, p. 194.
Further reading
- Laura Kelly (2012). Irish Women in Medicine, c.1880s-1920s: Origins, Education and Careers. Oxford University Press.
- Margaret Ward (ed.). "Celebrating Belfast Women" (PDF). Belfast Women’s History Tour.
- "Ulster Scots Women in History" (PDF). Ulster-Scots Community Network.
- "Lady Doctors of the Malta Garrison".
Other reading
- No 21 (24/B/787), Army Book No 82. Record of Special Reserve Officers' Service (Records of 132 Lady Doctors).
- Obituary, Louisa Aldrich-Blake. Br Med J (1926); 1: 69 (Published 9 January 1926).
- Macpherson W. G., 1921. History of The Great War, Medical Services General History, Vol I, Chap XIII, The Medical Services in the Mediterranean Garrison pp. 235–248. HMSO London.
- Leneman L., Medical women in the First World War - ranking nowhere. Br Med J (1993); 10: 1592 (Published 18 December 1993).
- Leneman L., Medical Women at war 1914-1918. Medical History 1994, 38: 160-177.
- Fairfield L., Medical Women in the Forces. Part I Women Doctors in the British Forces 1914 - 1918 War. Journal of the Medical Women Federation 49. 1967; p 99.
- Mitchell A. M., Medical Women and the Medical services of the First World War.
- SA/MWF/CI 59. Medical Women Federation, (Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine). Status of medical women under the War Office.
- Women doctors. Hansard House of Commons Debate 2 July 1918; 107: cc1555–6.
- Reports of Societies. Women's service in Malta with the RAMC. BMJ (1919); 2 : 634, (Published 15 November 1919).
- The Medical Directory 1916, 72nd Issue. London J. & A. Churchill.
- 1Hunter Richard H, The Belfast Medical School.
- 2Obituary 1934, Br Med J (1934); 2: 146 (Published 21 July 1934).
- Logan Mary S. T., The centenary of the admission of women students to the Belfast Medical School. The Ulster Medical Journal (1990), 59 (2), 200-203 (Published October 1990).