Back in chapter 120, we met two extraordinary women, Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale, who transformed the world of nursing. Now we’re looking at four more women who were just as remarkable. They took on the stronghold of the doctors, and broke in. As they did that, they also began to force open the doors of the universities.

The specific task of gaining access to universities for women was taken on by another woman mentioned in this episode, and she directed yet another towards the battle for the vote.

As well as the women, the episode also looks briefly at a Churchill and the strange launchpad for life he provided for another, his son. But that son is a historical giant, so strange or not, it was a launchpad that would work for him.

Illustration: The Elizabeth Garret Anderson Hospital building in Euston Road, London. Photo by Luca Borghi @ (July 2011)

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.