Dr Catherine Chisholm, 'children's physician': Her work for child welfare and feminist networking in Manchester

Abstract

Catherine Chisholm BA MB ChB MD FRCP CBE (1879-1952) is celebrated as the first woman to qualify in medicine from Manchester University in 1904 and is remembered for founding the Manchester Babies Hospital in 1914 (later renamed in 1935 as the Duchess of York Hospital for Babies). She was indefatigable in her pursuit to improve the education and status of women doctors; the first woman member and president of the British Paediatric Society; first woman president of the Manchester Medical Society and was mainly responsible for establishing the Medical Women's Federation in 1917. Her career was a complex mixture of medical and social networks that linked her work as a children's physician to the Manchester Public Health Committee, Liberal politics and feminist groups. These networks played an important role in Dr Chisholm's successful career and are at the centre of this paper.

Keywords: Catherine Chisholm; Manchester Babies Hospital; Manchester University; feminist networks; infant welfare; paediatrics; rickets.