The papers of Emily Winifred Dickson the first female Fellow of the RCSI have been fully catalogued and will soon be available for researchers to study.
Dickson was born in Tyrone in 1866 to the Ulster Liberal MP Thomas A. Dickson and his wife Elizabeth. She was the second youngest of seven children and was educated at the Ladies Collegiate School in Belfast and Harold House School in London. In 1887 she enrolled in RCSI, where she was the only female medical student. The certificate below is a RCSI first class certificate in Preliminary Education awarded to Emily Winifred Dickson on 19th October 1887. The certificate is signed by Anthony Corley, President and John Brennan, Registrar.
The inscription reads
'Presented to Miss Winifred Dickson by Sir William Stokes and Professor Hamilton Professors of Surgery Session 1889-90'
Dickson obtained the Licence of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Royal College of Physicians in Ireland in 1891 and graduated from the Royal University of Ireland in 1893 with the degrees of MB, BCh, BAO. She was elected the first female Fellow of RCSI in 1893. After her graduation, she won an RUI travelling scholarship to Vienna and Berlin for six months. In Berlin she encountered a lot of resistance and was unable to gain a place on courses at many clinics. Upon her return to Dublin in 1894, she set up practice in 18 Upper Merrion Street and was appointed Gynaecologist to the Richmond, Whitworth and Hardwick Hospital where she worked for four years until her marriage to Robert Martin in 1899.
Dickson can be seen on the far left of the photo above observing an operation in the Mater Hospital, Dublin in 1892-1893. Dickson was a pioneering woman which is clearly show in this photo as she is the only woman surgeon present. Emily Winifred Dickson's papers were kindly donated to the College by her grandson Dr. Niall Martin and other family members in March 2012.
- Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy
Dickson was born in Tyrone in 1866 to the Ulster Liberal MP Thomas A. Dickson and his wife Elizabeth. She was the second youngest of seven children and was educated at the Ladies Collegiate School in Belfast and Harold House School in London. In 1887 she enrolled in RCSI, where she was the only female medical student. The certificate below is a RCSI first class certificate in Preliminary Education awarded to Emily Winifred Dickson on 19th October 1887. The certificate is signed by Anthony Corley, President and John Brennan, Registrar.
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| RCSI/IP/Dickson/1/1/1 |
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| RCSI/IP/Dickson/7/3 (Back) |
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| RCSI/IP/Dickson/7/3 (Front) |
The inscription reads
'Presented to Miss Winifred Dickson by Sir William Stokes and Professor Hamilton Professors of Surgery Session 1889-90'
Dickson obtained the Licence of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and Royal College of Physicians in Ireland in 1891 and graduated from the Royal University of Ireland in 1893 with the degrees of MB, BCh, BAO. She was elected the first female Fellow of RCSI in 1893. After her graduation, she won an RUI travelling scholarship to Vienna and Berlin for six months. In Berlin she encountered a lot of resistance and was unable to gain a place on courses at many clinics. Upon her return to Dublin in 1894, she set up practice in 18 Upper Merrion Street and was appointed Gynaecologist to the Richmond, Whitworth and Hardwick Hospital where she worked for four years until her marriage to Robert Martin in 1899.
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| RCSI/IP/Dickson/3/1/3 |
In 1896 Dr Dickson took the degrees of Doctor of
Medicine and Master of Obstetrics at the Royal University of Ireland.
Following this she was appointed an Examiner in Midwifery at
RCSI. Upon her appointment, the students objected to a female examiner and 14
pages of signatures petitioning against her appointment were presented to the
Council of RCSI. On marriage she gave up her career in medicine and went on to
have five children.
In 1915 when her husband joined the British Army she returned to work as a doctor. She became the sole breadwinner for the family after she and her husband separated. The family moved to England in 1915. For much of the rest of her life she suffered illness but continued to work up until two months before her death in 1944 at the age of 77.
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| RCSI/IP/Dickson/3/4/3 |
Dickson can be seen on the far left of the photo above observing an operation in the Mater Hospital, Dublin in 1892-1893. Dickson was a pioneering woman which is clearly show in this photo as she is the only woman surgeon present. Emily Winifred Dickson's papers were kindly donated to the College by her grandson Dr. Niall Martin and other family members in March 2012.
- Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy