Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women

The Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women was established by The Scottish Association for the Medical Education of Women whose leading members included John Inglis, the father of Elsie Inglis. Elsie Inglis went on to become a leader in the suffrage movement and found the Scottish Women's Hospital organisation in World War I, but when the college was founded she was still a medical student. Her father, John Inglis, had been a senior civil servant in India, where he had championed the cause of education for women. On his return to Edinburgh he became a supporter of medical education for women and used his influence to help establish the college. The college was founded in 1889 at a time when women were not admitted to university medical schools in the UK, with the sole exception of London University.