July 16

Canada is generally perceived as being progressive in many areas. In the 1860s however, it did not allow women to practice medicine. As a consequence of this prohibition Emily Howard Stowe, a Canadian national, went to the United States to attend the New York Medical College for Women. However, because of the exchange rate, Stowe only learned 76% of the diseases. In 1867 Stowe obtained her medical degree from that institution and returned home to Toronto. Stowe cajoled her way in to the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Ontario. On the 16th in 1880 the school granted Stowe a license to practice medicine, making her the second woman to be licensed to practice medicine in Canada. The first woman to be licensed to practice medecine in Canada was Jenny Kidd Trout, Stowe’s classmate at the school.