Emily Bovell

Dr Emily Bovell (1841–1885) was a physician and credited as one of the original members of the Edinburgh Seven.[1] After qualification she worked at the New Hospital for Women in Marylebone Road, London.[2] She was the wife of the doctor William Allen Sturge.

Early life

Born on 21 February 1841,[3] she was the daughter of John Roach Bovell.[4] She was educated at Queens College, London, where she stayed on for a time as a mathematical tutor.[1] Other contemporary students of Queen's College include Sophia Jex-Blake, who she later studied with in Edinburgh.

Medical career

Signature of Emily Bovell from Matriculation records 1861-1874

Although credited as one of the 'Edinburgh Seven', her name is absent from the 1869 matriculation records, and the University of Edinburgh Class Prize lists for the 1869/70 academic year [5] (the other women students are listed there). In late 1870 she won a scholarship sponsored by Katharine Russell, Viscountess Amberley,[6] and her obituary states that she joined Sophia Jex-Blake and others at the University of Edinburgh to study medicine in 1871.[1] In 1873 she moved to Paris to continue her studies, when it was no longer possible to continue at Edinburgh,[7] and eventually qualified as a doctor in Paris in 1877. The subject of her medical thesis was "Congestive Phenomena followiing Epileptic and Hystero-epilectic Fits" [8]

She met her husband, the physician William Allen Sturge[9] in Paris in 1877, and they returned to London together, marrying on 27 September at St. Saviour's Church in Paddington.[10] Thereafter they set up a practice together in Wimpole Street, and Emily renewed her relationship with Queen's College, lecturing on physiology and hygiene, and running ambulance classes for ladies. Her husband was a strong supporter of her professional career, and the cause of women's medical education in general.[11] In recognition of her contribution to the medical profession, in 1880 she was nominated by the French Government for the "Officier d'Academie", an award very rarely conferred upon women.[1]

In 1881, in consequence of her poor health, she and her husband gave up their practice in London, and moved to Nice. In 1884 her lung complaint became more serious, and in early April 1885 she died.[1] She is buried in Sainte Marguerite Cemetery in Nice, France.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Obituary - Emily Bovell Sturge". British Medical Journal. 1: 1131. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.1274.1131-c.
  2. ↑ "Dickens's Dictionary of London". Dictionary of Victorian London. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Elston, M.A. "Emily Bovell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Summary of Individual | Legacies of British Slave-ownership". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  5. ↑ "University of Edinburgh Class Prize Lists, Session 1869-70". The Scotsman (18 April 1870).
  6. ↑ "Miscellaneous". Birmingham Daily Post (Issue 3831). 28 October 1870. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Court of Session". Glasgow Herald. 28 June 1873. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "De quelques accidents de l'épilepsie et de l'hystéro-épilpsie". Biu Sante - Catalogue des textes en ligne. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "William Allen Sturge". Whonamedit?. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Colonist, Births, Deaths and Marriages 1877" (PDF). RootsWeb. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Obituary - William Allen Sturge". British Medical Journal: 468–469. 12 April 1919. PMC 2340779 Freely accessible.
  12. ↑ Sale, Charles. "Gravestone Photographs Resource Countries index page". www.gravestonephotos.com. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
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