Mabel Purefory Fitzgerald

Mabel Purefory Fitzgerald was a clinical pathologist at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and lecturer of bacteriology at Edinburgh’s Extramural School of Medicine of the Royal Colleges in the 1920s.

Mabel is a pioneering figure in the field of physiology and clinical pathology, who defied convention and pursued a career in science by overcoming the educational barriers that stood in her way as a woman in science. Through pure determination she launched a career in laboratory medical science and produced ground-breaking research on the role of oxygen in breathing.

Working in numerous male dominated labs during her career in Oxford, USA and Edinburgh, Mabel also took part in expeditions often travelling as the only female. 

As a lecturer at the Extramural School of Medicine of the Royal Colleges, she was one of two female lecturers out of 43. She acquired the position without formal qualification and was required to be examined by the Royal Colleges in order to teach.

Mabel held classes for both men and women within the school which had its administrative base at Surgeon’s Hall. The extramural classes in medicine and surgery prepared the students for the licentiate examinations of the Royal Colleges.

While the school provided a platform for Mabel to teach, there was still a distinct hostility towards women teaching in medicine and science at that time. However, Mabel sat on the Board of Management for the duration of her time at the school, suggesting that she was a respected member of the teaching body during a time when most women were relegated to the margins of science and medicine.

She died in 1973 at the age of 101.