Blogs

As our exhibition ‘This vexed question: 500 years of women in medicine’ comes to a close, guest curator Briony Hudson, considers the challenges and delights of researching ‘hidden’ history.

The RCP’s current exhibition, This vexed question, includes several documents from our archives that help tell the history of women in medicine.  Assistant Archivist, Felix Lancashire, delves into the records to see what our archives reveal about the RCP’s attitude to women in medicine and women’s health over the last 500 years.  

Alice Stewart’s research on the risks of X-rays to unborn children was ground-breaking, but made her unpopular. It took a long time for her 1958 paper to find recognition, but she carried on with her research into the dangers of radiation. As part of our series on women's history, Sarah Gillam looks at Stewart's life and work.

A handkerchief embroidered by suffrage campaigners imprisoned in Holloway Prison in 1912 is testimony to the women’s courage, resilience and inventiveness.

Gendered advertising is a very current issue, and it has a long history in medicine and pharmacy. Matthew Johnston explores some adverts playing on concepts of motherhood in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society museum collection.

Kathleen Raven was a major force in 20th century nursing. Her archive is held by Leeds University Library, and has recently been catalogued and partially digitised.

William Somerville (1771–1860) was a military surgeon and licentiate of the RCP, but his greatest contribution was as a supporter of and assistant to his wife, Mary.

As part of our season of posts about women’s history, today we welcome Holly Carter-Chappell, collections officer at the Florence Nightingale Museum, writing about nursing during the First World War.

As part of our season of posts about women’s history, today we welcome Peter Basham, curator at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, writing about the RCOG’s first woman president, Hilda Lloyd (1891–1982).