Emily Stowe

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Emily Stowe before 1896

Emily Howard Stowe (born Jennings , born May 1, 1831 in Norwich , Ontario , Canada , † April 30, 1903 in Toronto , Canada) was a Canadian teacher , doctor , suffragette and theosophist . She was Canada's first practicing doctor.

In 2018, Stowe was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame .

life and work

Childhood, marriage, children, theosophy

Stowe was born in Norwich on May 1, 1831, the eldest of seven children of Solomon Jennings and Hannah Lossing Howard. The parents were farmers and members of the Quaker religious community . The mother, dissatisfied with the courses on offer at the regional schools, taught her children at home.

On November 22, 1856 she married John Stowe († 1891) in Norwich, and the connection resulted in three children. According to her husband's religion, she converted to Methodism .

She was a member of the Theosophical Society and on February 16, 1891, together with her daughter Augusta Stowe-Gullen , Algernon Blackwood and Albert Smythe , she co-founded the first theosophical lodge in Canada in Toronto.

As a teacher

In 1846 Stowe took over the post of teacher at the school in the neighboring town of Summerville. In 1852 she wanted to begin studying at Victoria College in Cobourg , but was turned away because she was a woman. Then she began to study in November 1853 at the teacher training institution Normal School in Toronto and graduated there in 1854 with honors (First-Class Honors). She then got a job as a principal at a general school in Brantford , making her the first female school principal in the Canadian province of Ontario .

As a doctor

When her husband contracted tuberculosis around 1863 , she took an interest in medical topics and tried to study at the Toronto School of Medicine at the University of Toronto . Again, being a woman, she was turned away. Therefore, she began studying medicine at the homeopathic New York Medical College for Women in New York in 1865 and graduated there in 1867.

Immediately afterwards, she opened a homeopathic practice in Toronto, the first medical practice in Canada, which was run by a woman. However, she operated this practice, which specialized in women's and children's diseases, illegally until 1880, when she was denied legalization because she was a woman. In addition, she had to fight against great resistance from the local male non-homeopathic doctors. In 1879 there was an indictment that she allegedly performed an abortion. After lengthy examinations, tests of her qualifications and questioning of witnesses regarding her impeccable character, she was acquitted. On July 16, 1880, she received an official medical license.

Following her example, her husband completed training as a dentist , graduated in 1875 and has since practiced in the same building next to his wife. Her daughter Augusta Stowe-Gullen also studied medicine and was the first woman in Canada to graduate in medicine in 1883. Stowe himself advocated an improvement in sanitary conditions and promoted reforms in the health system. She was also involved in the women's movement and advocated women's suffrage . At a women's convention in Chicago in May 1893, she fell from the speaker's platform and broke her hip. As a result of this injury, she had to close her doctor's office and stop her reform efforts.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Induction Ceremony 2018
  2. ^ Theosophy ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
personal data
SURNAME Stowe, Emily
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stowe, Emily Howard; Jennings, Emily Howard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian teacher, doctor, suffragette and theosophist
DATE OF BIRTH May 1, 1831
PLACE OF BIRTH Norwich, Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH April 30, 1903
Place of death Toronto