Jane Harriett Walker CH (24 October 1859 – 7 November 1938) was an English medical doctor who first implemented the open-air method of treating

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in England. She was appointed a

Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

in 1931.

Life

Walker was born at

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in Yorkshire, one of eight children of a wool merchant. She was educated in Southport and at the

Yorkshire College of Science , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , t ...

. Determined to become a doctor, she studied at the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

in 1880 and qualified as a Licentiate of 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 ...

in 1884.Susan L. Cohen, ‘Walker, Jane Harriett (1859–1938)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, September 201
accessed 14 April 2017
/ref> She was the 45th woman to be included on the

General Medical Register The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

: the first was

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...

in 1859. She established a private medical practice on

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

in London. She was interested in treating women and children. She became an

outpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...

s physician at the

New Hospital for Women The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female physi ...

in 1888, and joined the hospital's medical staff in 1895. Jane Harriett Walker by Wilfrid de Glehn

Walker developed an interest in the treatment of

, and travelled to Germany in 1888 to visit Otto Walther's

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

in Nordrach, where he was using an open-air method of treatment. Impressed, Walker introduced the method into the UK, at a time when many doctors favoured keeping tubercular patients in a warm stuffy environment. German bacteriologist Robert Koch had discovered the

tubercle bacillus ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (M. tb) is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, ''M. tuberculosis'' has an unusual, waxy coating on its c ...

in 1882, but the best treatment was not yet clear. In July 1892, she opened a small sanatorium at a cottage in

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 miles west of Norwich and 3 ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, with six beds, using Walther's method of fresh air and good nutrition. She expanded to a second sanatorium at a house in the nearby village of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1898, with ten beds. In 1901, she opened the East Anglian Sanatorium at

Nayland Nayland is a village and former civil parish in the River Stour, Suffolk, Stour Valley on the Suffolk side of the border between Suffolk and Essex in England. In 2011 the built-up area had a population of 938. In 1881 the civil parish had a po ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, initially with 30 beds. All of these ventures only accepted private patients, but the Nayland Sanatorium opened a wing for patients from local authority patients in 1904. A separate sanatorium for children followed later. Her assistant and successor at the sanatoriums was

Eleanor Soltau Eleanor Soltau (1877–1962) was an English doctor who led the first unit of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service in Serbia. Early life Soltau was born in Romford, Essex, in late 1877. Her parents were George Soltau (d. c.1896), ...

. Walker was also a founder member and first president of the

Medical Women's Federation The Medical Women's Federation is the largest UK body of women doctors. The organisation is dedicated to the advancement of the personal and professional development of women in medicine and to improving the health of women and their families i ...

(MWF) in 1917, and the President 1917-1920 - one of the first women to join the council of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

. She was one of the founders of Godstowe, a preparatory school for girls in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

, and a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. She received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. She never married. She died from a

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

at her home on Harley Street and was buried in at

Wiston, Suffolk Wissington or Wiston is a small village and former civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below dis ...

References

Dr Jane Walker was a medical pioneer at a time when women had to fight
2012, Sanvey Echo, Retrieved April 2017 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Jane Harriett 1859 births 1938 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors Presidents of the Medical Women's Federation People from Dewsbury People from Nayland