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| Elsie Inglis |
Famous Scottish Women
the many stories of Scotland’s
histories there are many stories of great men
but it is nearly impossible to find
stories of famous Scottish women.
It occurred to me – who were they? I went in search of them.
….for their words, actions, innovations or creativity. And there have been outstanding women
in history – but no statues to commemorate their memory of their contributions. Doctor Elsie Inglis
is revered in Serbia and largely forgotten in Scotland – there is a foundation
to her memory in Serbia, but only a plague in St Giles Edinburgh to her.
Even those
who study university level history are not introduced to great Scots and in
particular Scottish women. So much has been forgotten and air brushed out. I
feel ashamed to know so little of them….
I attended
the Royal college of Pediatric medicine graduations in Knightsbridge 2016.
Today over 70% in medicine are women – several were pregnant. I hope the young
women of today, remember the stories of the first women who fought against
strong prejudice. This matters, - it matters for young girls to see the Photos
of great women scientists, writers, politicians, - and know that their role in
life is not solely about their looks but about how they can contribute to
society. Here are only few famous Scottish pioneering women.
*Elsie
Inglis - (1864 –1917) Scottish doctor and suffragette, who fundraised for the first Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH) hospice for poor women Edinburgh in 1894. She attended Edinburgh medical school
and qualified from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Edinburgh. She
trained at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s new hospital for women London and later
at the Rotunda Dublin. She was appalled by the general standard of care and
lack of specialization in the needs of female patients.
She is
best known for The Elsie Inglis maternity hospital and her war work when she
set up the SWH for Foreign Service which sent medical teams to Belgium, France,
Serbia, and Russia. After the British army turned her down she gained support
from the French government. She was told – to go home and sit still by the UK
war office! She went to Serbia and worked to improve hygiene to reduce typhus
and other epidemics. She was awarded the Order of the White Eagle of Serbia
*Muriel Spark – (1918 – 2006) Scottish author, known best her book The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
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| Margaret Macdonald |
*Margaret Macdonald – (1864
-1933) Scottish artist whose design work became one of the defining features of
the "Glasgow Style" during the 1890s. With her
husband, renowned architect Rennie Mackintosh, she was one of the most
influential members of the loose collective of the Glasgow Four. She exhibited
at the 1900 Vienna Secession, where she was arguably an influence on the
Secessionists Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffman.
*Victoria
Drummond -
(1894–1978) marine engineer. She was awarded an MBE for
bravery at sea during the Second World War when she single handily kept engines
of the SS Bonita running while under German bombardment.
*Katharine
Marjory - (1874
– 1940) female Scottish MP, known as ‘the
Red Duchess’, in 1923 Katharine Marjory, the Duchess of Atholl, became the
first ever female Scottish MP, when she was elected to the House of Commons.
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| Mary Barbour |
*Mary
Barbour (1875 – 1958) was a Scottish political
activist, councilor and magistrate. She was active wit hthe red Clydeside movement
in the early 20th century and known especially for her role as the main
organiser of the women of Govan who took part in the rent strikes of 1915.[2]
*Lorna Moon, Hollywood screenwriter, - Helen Wilson Low
grew up in the rural village of Strichen. Through her own endeavours, she
became Lorna Moon,
*Jennie Lee - (1904 –1988), Scottish Labour politician.
She played a lead role in the foundation of the Open University working
directly with Harold Wilson.
*Mary
Somerville (1780 –
1872) was a Scottish science writer and polymath. She was self taught and studied mathematics and
astronomy and was nominated to be jointly the first female member of the Royal
Astronomical Society. The University of Oxford’s Somerville
college is named after Mary. She wrote a book On the Connexion of the Physical
Sciences in 1834, which helped to encourage astronomers to search for - and
eventually discover - the eighth planet, Neptune. Mary was friends with and influenced the artist JMW Turner.
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| Mary Somerville |
*Nan Shepherd - (1893 –1981),
Scottish novelist and poet. She was an early Scottish modernist writer, who
wrote novels set in small, communities. The Scottish landscapes played a major
role in her novels and poetry. She is best known for her book the ‘Living
Mountain’ Shepherd about her experiences walking in the Cairngorms. She was a lecturer at the Aberdeen College.
*The
Edinburgh Seven, group
of pioneering female students in Scotland that became the first in Britain to
be admitted onto a university degree program.
Our mainstream media mainly glorifies models,
actresses and singers. When I attend Edinburgh International book festival (EIBF) each year and I see the many women there who have
achieved truly great things – but receive little attention. This can change.
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| Nan Sheperd |
More Info Websites – The Saltire Society, Glasgow Women’s library,
In Edinburgh there are 200 statues of men. Two statues of Queen Victoria and two of dogs.
