Anna Honzáková (16 November 1875 in

Kopidlno Kopidlno is a town in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants. Administrative division Kopidlno consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

– 13 October 1940 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

) was the first female medical doctor to graduate from the

Charles-Ferdinand University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

, which she did on 17 March 1902. She was also the third

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

woman to earn a doctor's certificate, although the first two,

Bohuslava Kecková Bohuslava Kecková (18 March 1854 – 17 October 1911) was a Czech physician, the first woman in Bohemian lands (now the Czech Republic) who did earn a secondary diploma and subsequently a medical degree. Unable to study medicine (closed for wo ...

(graduated 1880 from the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

) and

Anna Bayerová Anna Bayerová (4 November 1853 – 24 January 1924) was the second Czech female medical doctor, after Bohuslava Kecková. Both of them were prevented from practicing as medical doctors in their own country so Kecková became a Czech midwife, ...

(graduated 1881 from the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

), had done so at Swiss universities rather than Czech ones, and had had to practice abroad as their doctorates were not recognized by their homeland. Honzáková was at first allowed only to go to lectures, not examinations, at medical school, but this changed after five years, when she was allowed to take exams for all she had been studying. After graduation she worked for

Charles Maydl Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, the founder of Czech surgery and anaesthesiology, as an unpaid trainee, but had to leave when he died, and could not get a medical post in the civil hospital. Therefore, Honzáková worked in an open private gynecological surgery in the street of Moráni in Prague for thirty-five years, until her death. She was also the school doctor for Minerva Grammar School. She wrote a biography of

, as well as a publication on how to protect children from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

with Klementina Hanušová. She also created a fund to support sick and poor women. A commemorative plaque was unveiled at the house in Moráni where she practiced; however, it wrongly lists the date of her graduation as 18 March rather than 17 March.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honzakova, Anna Czech gynaecologists Women gynaecologists Czech women physicians 19th-century Czech physicians 1875 births 1940 deaths Charles University alumni People from Jičín District Physicians from Austria-Hungary Czech people from Austria-Hungary