James Hogarth Pringle graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1885. He then travelled to Europe to further his surgical studies in places like Hamburg, Berlin, and Vienna.

He was House Surgeon at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary before becoming House Surgeon under Sir William Macewen at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. In 1896 he was appointed Surgeon to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1899.

Alongside Macewen, Pringle was one of the few men in medicine who accepted female students and trainees into his clinics. He became Lecturer in Surgery and Demonstrator in Anatomy at Queen Margaret College in Glasgow in 1899. This College was founded in 1868 specifically for women and began teaching medicine in 1890/91. ]]>
Dring, William (English painter, 1904-1990)]]>

Pictured here is a portrait that represents the life and work of Jessie MacLaren MacGregor as part of the College's "Admitting Women" exhibition.

Dr Jessie MacLaren MacGregor wrote to the College in 1905 asking: ‘First on what grounds women were held to be ineligible for the Fellowship, and, secondly, if their hindrance might possibly be reviewed.’ Her request was refused. MacGregor was one of the first women to be awarded a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, yet the College refused to acknowledge her status as a qualified doctor, referring to her as ‘Miss’ throughout the discussion.

MacGregor was one of the founders of The Hospice, a maternity hospital for the care of working class women in Edinburgh. She also practiced at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
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Pictured here is a portrait that represents the life and work of Jamini Sen as part of the College's "Admitting Women" exhibition.

Jamini Sen was admitted as the first female Fellow of the College in 1912, passing the fellowship examination as a surgeon. She was unable to hold office in the College, meaning that her privileges as a female Fellow were restricted compared to those of her male counterparts. It would be 11 years before another woman was admitted as a Fellow (Margaret Hogg Grant in 1923).

Sen studied at Calcutta Medical College, obtaining a medical license in 1897. She practiced in Nepal from 1899 until 1909, before receiving a scholarship from the Dufferin Foundation in 1911. This allowed her to travel widely to expand her skills as a surgeon, obtaining a further medical license in Dublin. Her desire to learn and advance medical education is reflected in her words, "I have a lot of responsibilities towards my sisters in my country."
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Pictured here is a portrait that represents the life and work of Anne Louise McIlroy as part of the College's "Admitting Women" exhibition.

Dr Anne Louise Mcllroy applied to become a Fellow of the College in 1910. She studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, and was the first woman to receive the MD with a commendation. In her application for fellowship, she stated that it was “necessary for the holding of teaching posts.” Her application although refused led to the motion being passed in 1911 allowing women to be accepted as Fellows. Despite battling gender inequality, McIlroy was eventually awarded an OBE and then DBE for her services to midwifery.

She worked as a surgeon with the Scottish Women’s Hospital during the First World War. McIlroy was the first woman professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at London University and was a founding Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.


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Pictured here is a portrait that represents the life and work of Elizabeth Adelaide Baker as part of the College's "Admitting Women" exhibition.

Elizabeth Adelaide Baker was the first woman to apply for fellowship of the College in 1897. Although she was already a licentiate of the College through the Triple Qualification, her application for fellowship was refused on the grounds of a minor technicality within medical legislation. The College concluded that women were “not eligible among the brethren” of Fellows. While refused, Baker’s attempt at obtaining fellowship represented a bold push for gender equality in medicine.
Baker practiced medicine in many locations, including Greenhill House in Orkney and Lady Gomm Memorial Mission House and Accident Hospital in Rotherhithe. ]]>
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Jacqueline Taylor gained her MBChB from the University of Glasgow in 1983 and went on to train and specialise in general internal medicine and geriatric medicine. In 1997 she became a Consultant Geriatrician at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. From a managerial perspective, she has been Clinical Director, Associate Medical Director and Clinical Quality Lead in Geriatric Medicine.

Taylor was president of the College from 2018 to 2021. ]]>