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Period: to
Women & Medicine in Europe; From Persecution to Participation
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Torsåker Witch Trials (Sweden)
Image from Joseph Glanville’s Saducismus Triumphus: or Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions (England,1682), which includes the Appendix: A True Account of What Happen’d in the Kingdom of Sweden in the Years 1669,1670, and Upwards. This trial signals the peak in Scandinavian persecution of witches, many of whom were known healers, apothecaries, and midwives. -
Obstetrical Forceps Popularized in Europe
Scientific diagram of obstetrical forceps from André Levret's book "Observations sur les causes et les accidens de plusieurs accouchemens laborieux", France, 1750. The popularization of such medical tools falls in line with the growing scientific approach to birth during the enlightenment era and the corresponding marginalization of traditional female midwives. -
Dr. James Barry / Margaret Ann Bulkley born
Letter from Dr. McKinnon to George Graham of the General Registrar's Office concerning the gender of Dr. James Berry, England, 1865. It was discovered upon her death that James Barry was born a female by the name of Margaret Ann Bulkely in 1799, and had disguised herself as a man for 46 years in order to attend medical school and become become a surgeon for the British Army. -
Kaiserswerth Deaconess Institute opens
Photgraph by R. Schliegel of "Burger Krankenhaus" (Deconess Institute) in Eberfield, Germany, mid 1800's. Opened in 1836, the Kaiserswerth Deaconess Institute helped to slowly change the status of women in Prussia through nursing training and established a system of nursing practises that were built upon later in the century. -
Fight Against Contagious Diseases Acts
Image from pamphlet distributed by National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, London, 1870's. The fight agaisnt the government's policing of women's bodies through the Contagious Disease Acts coincided with the struggle for women's suffrage in the UK. This source is evidence of the growth of women's rights movements in Europe and the rise of their fight for a voice in society. -
Endell St Military Hospital Opened
Photograph of Dr. Flora Murray and unidentified male service member at the gates of the Endell Street Military Hospital, London, 1915. Photo supplied by the Imperial War Museum. Endell Street Military Hospital was the first female staffed hospital for exclusively male patients, and was under direct patronage from the War Office.
