Elizabeth Florence McKeown (1 June 1918 – 9 June 2008) was a Northern Irish pathologist who was Professor of Morbid Anatomy at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Biography

Elizabeth Florence McKeown was born on 1 June 1918 in Belfast; her parents were Mary (née Lyons) and Robert Lemon McKeown, the latter of whom a missionary. After spending her secondary education at Victoria College, Belfast, she received her

MB BCh BAO Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...

degree at

in 1942. After returning to Queen's as an assistant in pathology, she was promoted to lecturer in 1947, before receiving a further promotion to reader in 1954. Eventually, in 1967 she was granted a personal appointment as Professor of Morbid Anatomy, making her the university's "first woman to be appointed to a permanent academic position in medicine". In 1952, she became a consultant pathologist at Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where she had spent her residency, before eventually moving to the Belfast City Hospital. Richard Froggatt noted that "she was one of only seven permanent woman appointments in the entire 1940s". In 1965, McKeown published '' Pathology of the Aged'', a study on the autopsies of 1,500 patients over seventy years of age. Pathologist Roy Cameron described McKeown as a "noted contributor" to rheumatic

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

. McKeown joined '' The Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology'' editorial board in 1967. She was also part of the

British Cardiovascular Society The British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) is a United Kingdom-wide health organisation based in London. It aims to represent all healthcare professionals working in the field of cardiology, set standards for prevention, diagnosis, and clinical care, ...

and the

Pathological Society The Pathological Society is a professional organisation of Great Britain and Ireland whose mission is stated as 'understanding disease'. Membership and profile The membership of the society is mainly drawn from the UK and includes an internat ...

. She was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in 1963 and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1974. McKeown died on 9 June 2008, eight days after his 90th birthday. She remained unmarried throughout her life. She is the aunt of art historian

Simon McKeown Simon Mckeown (born 1965) is a British artist, and lecturer at the University of Teesside. On 4 December 2010, he was named DaDaFest Artist of the Year for 2011. In 2012, he was part of the Paralympic Cultural Festival (or Unlimited (arts initia ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKeown, Florence 1918 births 2008 deaths British pathologists Women pathologists Cardiologists from Northern Ireland Women cardiologists British rheumatologists Women rheumatologists Cardiovascular pathologists 20th-century medical doctors from Northern Ireland Women medical doctors from Northern Ireland Medical doctors from Belfast Academics of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians 20th-century women medical doctors from Northern Ireland