Mary Scharlieb

Born in 1845, she became a pioneering British physician and gynaecologist at a time when women were still fighting for a place in medicine. After moving to India with her husband, she saw how little medical care was available to women, especially in childbirth, and that experience helped shape her life's work.

She studied first in Madras, becoming the first woman to attend Madras Medical College, and later continued her medical training in London. Her career combined medical practice, teaching, and public advocacy, and she became widely known for her work in women's health and for supporting women's place in the profession.

Remembered as one of the important early women doctors in Britain, she also wrote books and spoke publicly on medicine and social questions. She died in 1930, leaving behind a legacy tied to both the history of women's medical education and the development of modern gynaecology.