Women in history
A selection of Inspiring Women from history affiliated to the University.
Thanks go to Development and Alumni, Nursing Studies, and Lothian Health Service Archive for their contribution and assistance to this section of the exhibition.
Ruth Adler

Feminist, human rights campaigner and child welfare advocate.
Annie Altschul

Chair of Nursing Studies at Edinburgh 1976–1983.
Charlotte Auerbach

Lecturer in 1947, Professor of Genetics and Personal Chair in 1967.
James (Miranda) Barry

James (Miranda) Barry known as the first qualified female British doctor or surgeon?
Phyllis Mary Bone

Sculptor and Edinburgh College of Art graduate.
Mary Brennan

Internationally renowned sign linguist.
Mary Brück

Astronomer, astrophysicist and historian of science.
Honor Fell

Attended Edinburgh University to read Zoology and was awarded a B.Sc. in 1923.
Gertrude Herzfeld

The first practising women surgeon in Scotland
Elizabeth G. K. Hewat

The first woman to graduate with BD and PhD degrees from New College.
Elsie Inglis

One of the first women to graduate from the University of Edinburgh.
Sophia Jex-Blake

Successfully campaigned to secure women access to a University education.
Edinburgh Seven

The Edinburgh Seven
Vivien Kellems

Industrialist, politician and inventor who became known for her battle with the US taxman.
Jennie Lee

One of the first woman MPs, prominent socialist, and leading founder of the Open University.
Lilian Lindsay

First British woman to qualify as a dentist and first female president of the British Dental Association
Jessie MacLaren MacGregor

One of the first women to be awarded an Medical Degree from the University.
Chrystal Macmillan

The University's first female science graduate, but also a pioneering feminist and pacifist.
Christina Cruikshank Miller

One of the first five women to be elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Noreen Murray

Molecular geneticist who helped develop a vaccine against hepatitis B.
Flora Philip

First female member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society and one of the first women to graduate from the University in 1893.
Isabella Pringle

Missionary, child health pioneer, and the first female Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Anne Redpath

First woman to become an Academician of the Royal Scottish Academy and an influential member of the Scottish art world.
Marion Ross

Pioneer in X-rays and superconductivity.
Arabella Scott

Advocate for women's suffrage and active speaker in Scotland.
Margaret Scott Wright

First professor of nursing in the UK and first Chair of Nursing Studies in Europe.
Elsie Stephenson

The University's first Director of the Nursing Studies Unit in 1956.
Elizabeth (Bessie) Watson

Scotland's youngest Suffragette.