Historical figure · Pearson Edexcel International GCSE revision on Incandio

Sophia Jex-Blake

A Plaintiff, Not A Pioneer · Physician & Campaigner · 1840–1912

One of the Edinburgh Seven, the first women admitted to a British degree course in medicine and then refused their degrees — who litigated, lost, and founded a school instead.

Defend these ideas against Jex-Blake

Incandio is a free revision platform for the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE, and on it a topic counts as mastered only once you have learned it, proved it in questions, taught it back and defended it against the person with the strongest claim on it. Sophia Jex-Blake is that person for one topic on the course:

• Elizabeth Garrett and the progress of women in medicine — History · Changes in medicine, c1848–c1948

Who was Jex-Blake?

Born in Hastings in 1840, Jex-Blake taught mathematics at Queen's College London and studied medicine in America under Lucy Sewall. In 1869 she and six others matriculated in medicine at Edinburgh — the first women admitted to a British university degree course — and the University then refused to graduate them. In November 1870 a crowd of students blocked the gates of Surgeons' Hall against them and a sheep was driven into the examination room. She litigated and lost on appeal in 1873. She founded the London School of Medicine for Women in 1874, and the Medical Act of 1876 permitted examining bodies to admit women; she qualified in Berne and Dublin in 1877. She practised in Edinburgh and founded a hospital and a second school there.

Major achievements

• Led the Edinburgh Seven, the first women admitted to a British medical degree course
• Founded the London School of Medicine for Women in 1874
• Qualified as a physician in 1877 and practised in Edinburgh
• Founded the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women and a hospital for women and children

Life in brief

• 1840 — Born in Hastings: Teaches mathematics at Queen's College London.
• 1869 — Matriculates at Edinburgh: With six others; the first women on a British degree course in medicine.
• 1870 — The Surgeons' Hall riot: 18 November: the gates are blocked and a sheep driven into the hall.
• 1873 — The appeal is lost: The University is not required to graduate them.
• 1874 — The London School of Medicine for Women: Founded to provide the training Edinburgh refused.
• 1877 — Qualifies: In Berne and Dublin, after the Medical Act of 1876.

Explore the life of Jex-Blake — five chapters

1. A Salary Refused — Permitted to teach, not permitted to be paid
2. The Edinburgh Seven — Admitted, and then admitted to be a mistake
3. The Riot at Surgeons' Hall — Mud, rubbish and a sheep
4. Losing in Court and Building Anyway — A judgement against her, and two schools
5. What Followed — From none to hundreds, in one working life

Read the five-chapter life of Sophia Jex-Blake →

Begin

• Start a conversation with Jex-Blake — a dramatised, historically grounded AI portrayal
• Read the Historical Brief
• Explore the life of Jex-Blake — five chapters
• Find your course · Meet all 280 figures