Dr Ann Elizabeth Clark (1844–1925) . , which included Dr Sophia L. Jex-Blake,

Isabel Thorne Isabel Jane Thorne (née Pryer; 22 September 1834 – 9 October 1910) was an early campaigner for medical education for women. Mrs Thorne, as she was known, was a member of the feminist Edinburgh Seven, who campaigned and succeeded in securing th ...

Edith Pechey Mary Edith Pechey (7 October 1845 – 14 April 1908) was one of the first women doctors in the United Kingdom and a campaigner for women's rights. She spent more than 20 years in India as a senior doctor at a women's hospital and was involved ...

, Matilda Chaplin,

Helen Evans Helen de Lacey Evans ( Carter; 1833/1834 – 4 October 1903) was the fifth member of the Edinburgh Seven, a group of women who enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1869, and who sought to qualify as physicians. She married the editor of Th ...

and later Mary Anderson and

Emily Bovell Emily Bovell (21 February 1841–April 1885) was a physician and credited as one of the original members of the Edinburgh Seven. After qualification she worked at the New Hospital for Women in Marylebone Road, London and in Paris. The French gov ...

Life

Clark was fifth of the 12 children of Eleanor and James Clark of

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

, Somerset. She travelled to the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

with Jex-Blake and Pechey to study medicine. Her graduation thesis was titled ''The Ankle Joint in Man''. She was licensed in medicine and midwifery by the

Royal College of Physicians of Ireland The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), ( ga, Coláiste Ríoga Lianna na hÉireann) is an Irish professional body dedicated to improving the practice of general medicine and related medical specialities, chiefly through the accredit ...

on 27 May 1878. Committed to a career in medicine, Clark settled in Birmingham dedicating time to clinical work. She worked in the fields of

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

and

anaesthesiology Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

and became the assistant to

Lawson Tait Lawson Tait, born Robert Lawson Tait (1 May 1845 – 13 June 1899) was a pioneer in pelvic and abdominal surgery and developed new techniques and procedures. He emphasized asepsis and introduced and advocated for surgical techniques that significa ...

. She was entrusted with the care of Dr Jex-Blake in her later years, travelling from Birmingham to administer a treatment of anaesthetic.

Writings

References

1844 births British women activists British expatriates in Switzerland People from Somerset 1925 deaths University of Bern alumni 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians 19th-century English medical doctors 19th-century English women medical doctors {{UK-med-bio-stub