Constance Leetham (1888–1983) was a British physiologist who was one of the first women to be admitted to the

Physiological Society The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is an international learned society for physiologists with headquarters in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit ...

Life

She was the second of three daughters of miller Henry Ernest Leetham of

Dringhouses Dringhouses is a suburb of York, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is bounded by the Knavesmire, an open area of land on which York Racecou ...

. After gaining a BSc, she worked as a demonstrator in physiology 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supp ...

. She was granted the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

’s Studentship in Physiology in 1913 and worked in the Physiological Laboratory with John Addyman Gardner on the respiration of fish. In 1915, she was proposed by

Joseph Barcroft Sir Joseph Barcroft (26 July 1872 – 21 March 1947) was a British physiologist best known for his studies of the oxygenation of blood. Life Born in Newry, County Down into a Quaker family, he was the son of Henry Barcroft DL and Anna Ric ...

as a member of the Physiological Society, six months after the rules had been amended to allow women. She was one of the first six women to be admitted as members alongside

Florence Buchanan Florence Buchanan (21 April 1867 – 13 March 1931) was a zoologist. She was awarded a London D.Sc. in 1902, was appointed as a Fellow of the University College London in 1904, and was awarded the American Association of Collegiate Alumnae's priz ...

Winifred Cullis Winifred Cullis (2 June 1875 – 13 November 1956) was a physiologist and academic, and the first woman to hold a professorial chair at a medical school. Early life and education Born in Gloucester, Winifred was the youngest daughter of the ...

Ruth Skelton Ruth Filby Skelton (d. 1980) was a British biologist who was one of the first women elected to the Physiological Society in 1915. Life Skelton earned a BsC from University College London. She was active in the Chelsea Physical Training College ...

, S. C. M. Sowton, and Enid Tribe. The same year, she married the writer J. E. Harold Terry. Her sister Kathleen had married Harold’s brother Noel Terry. Harold and Constance had two daughters and two sons.

References

External links

Papers by Constance Leetham
held by

PubMed PubMed is an openly accessible, free database which includes primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institute ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leetham, Constance 1888 births 1983 deaths 20th-century British women scientists People from York Women physiologists