Alice Robson

Alice Robson, born Alice Lilian Louise Cumming, (November 22, 1870 – July 4, 1945) was a Scottish medical doctor and one of the first two women to be awarded a medical degree in Scotland.

Alice Robson
Born
Alice Lilian Louise Cumming

November 22, 1870
Houston, Renfrewshire, Scotland
DiedJuly 4, 1945
OccupationMedical doctor

Early life and education

Robson was born in Houston, Renfrewshire on November 22, 1870.[1] Her father, James S. Cumming,[2] was a general practitioner.[3][4]

Based in the city centre, Robson, then Cumming, attended Queen Margaret College, studying arts before enrolling at Glasgow University to study medicine.[5][6]

In 1894, Cumming received a Bachelor of Medicine and a Certified Midwife from the University of Glasgow.[1][3] With Marion Gilchrist, she was one of the first two women who graduated in medicine in 1894.[5] Robson graduated alongside doctor and suffragette Marion Gilchrist. They were first women to ever be awarded medical degrees in Scotland[7] and they were featured in the international press.[6][2][8]

It was written that Cumming would practice as an assistant in her father's practice in Blythswood Square, Glasgow.[2]

In 1899, Cumming received a Doctor of Public Health from the University of Cambridge.[3]

Career

In 1904, Robson chaired a meeting of Ladies' Discussion Society. This was reported on by the Cambridge Independent Press, who referred to Robson as a "qualified medical woman."[3]

Robson worked for the Cambridge Charity Organisation Society and Addenbrooke's Hospital.[3]

It is uncertain if Dr Robson practised medicine in Cambridge before the war, as she does not appear to be listed in the street directories as a physician up to this time. However The Cambridge Independent Press lists Mrs Robson appointed as a medical adviser to the Cambridge Charity Organisation Society. In the same paper there is one reference to a Dr Robson acting as an examiner with Dr Dorothy Hare at a Red Cross Nursing examination on Friday 14 January 1916, so it is possible they were contemporaries.


As early as 1915 the Addenbrooke’s Minutes report that the surgical team requested the use of women doctors to act as anaesthetists in order to meet the shortage of male doctors, called to the front. It was not until November 1919 that Mrs Robson was appointed. Other women were to join the team of anaesthetists but Mrs Robson is again mentioned in the hospital minutes in March 1929 when she offered her resignation after nine years. Interestingly she is reappointed in 1931 to join the team of auxiliary anaesthetists to be on hand to cover holidays.

— Addenbrooke's Archives (Addenbrooke's Hospital)

Personal life

In 1901, Robson married Henry Robson, a Scottish mathematician and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.[9] Henry Robson later became the Bursar of Sidney Sussex College.[3]

Alice and Henry Robson lived at 10 Park Terrace, Cambridge.[3][10] They lived in Cambridge and had four daughters.

References
  1. "Alice Lilian Louisa Cumming". University of Glasgow. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  2. "Are to Be Physicians: Women Win Unusual Degrees in a University". The Kansas Agriculturalist. 1894-10-06. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Dr Alice Robson". Addenbrooke's Archives. March 7, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  4. 1891 census Glasgow Barony; ED: 63; Page: 21; Line: 15; Roll: CSSCT1891_269
  5. "The First Lady Graduates of Glasgow University". The British Medical Journal. 2 (1752): 205. July 28, 1894. JSTOR 20229388.
  6. "Two Scotch Lassies Win Degrees--Medical Graduates from the University of Glasgow". The Buffalo Evening News. 1894-10-18. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Women Medical Students in Glasgow. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. 131. Cupples, Upham & Company. 1894. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  8. "Will Be Physicians". Chicago Daily Tribune. August 25, 1894. p. 16.
  9. Venn, JA. "Alumni Cantabrigienses". Searchable directory of Cambridge Graduates.
  10. "10 Park Terrace". Capturing Cambridge. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
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