| Annie O'HaraMB | |
|---|---|
Annie O'Hara, 1887 | |
| Born | Annie Genevieve O'Hara 1869 Victoria Australia |
| Died | 26 April 1897(1897-04-26) (aged 27–28) Albert Park, Victoria, Australia |
| Education | Melbourne University |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician |
| Field | General Practice |
Annie Genevieve O'Hara MB (1869 - 26 April 1897) was a doctor from Melbourne, Australia who was a founding member of the Victorian Medical Women's Society, and in 1887 she was one of the first seven women who enrolled in medicine at the University of Melbourne. She graduated in 1894 and commenced practice, however, in 1897 she contracted a cold and died at 27 years of age.
Early life
O'Hara was born to Mary Ann O'Hara nee Connolly (1846-1895) and Patrick Kelly O'Hara (1840-1921). O'Hara's brother John Bernard O'Hara was, like their father, a school master and a poet. O'Hara's sister Elizabeth O'Hara was a medical doctor, having enrolled into the Melbourne University medical faculty at the same time as O'Hara.
Education
In the late 1880s medical schools in Australia did not accept enrollments from women. O'Hara and her sister Elizabeth wished to become doctors, and passed matriculation at the University of Melbourne, but due to the medicine faculty's ban on women, they began to look into options for study overseas. Their father wrote to the university asking for them to be accepted, as he did not want them to move away. Lilian Alexander, and Helen Sexton posted a notice in the newspaper seeking women who wished to enrol in medicine so they could apply as a group. O'Hara and her Elizabeth applied, as did Grace Vale, Clara Stone, and Margaret Whyte. Together they campaigned and successfully convinced the university to accept their enrolments in 1887. All of the students graduated as doctors, with O'Hara gaining her degree in 1894.
Career
On 22 March 1895 O'Hara joined Constance Stone, Emily Mary Page Stone, Grace Clara Stone, Lilian Alexander, Margaret Whyte, Grace Vale, Helen Sexton and her sister Elizabeth O'Hara for a meeting which was the foundation of the Victorian Medical Women's Society. O'Hara worked in private practice with her sister in South Melbourne.
Death
O'Hara died on 26 April 1897 at her Beaconsfield parade residence in Albert Park, after having contracted a cold two weeks earlier. She was buried in St Kilda Cemetery.
References
- "Family Notices". Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 1895-03-06. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Gossip". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Sydney, NSW. 1895-03-16. p. 544. Retrieved 2024-04-20 – via National Library of Australia.
- "News and Notes". Upper Murray and Mitta Herald. Victoria. 1942-11-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-04-18 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Turner, Elizabeth K (1984), The 88th Presidential Address to the Victorian Medical Women's Society, 18th November 1983 (PDF), Chiron Newsletter (March ed.), Melbourne, Victoria: University of Melbourne Medical Society, pp. 3–6, archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-03-24, retrieved 2024-03-31
- ^ Healy, Jacqueline, ed. (2013). Strength of mind: 125 years of women in medicine (PDF). Melbourne, Victoria: Medical History Museum, University of Melbourne. ISBN 9780734048608. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- "The University of Melbourne". Argus. Melbourne, Victoria. 1894-12-24. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Record". Record. Emerald Hill, Victoria. 1897-05-01. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Family Notices". Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 1897-04-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-04-21 – via National Library of Australia.