Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Dr. Emily Stowe (1831-1903)

Photos by Alan L Brown with assistance from Colin Old - Posted January, 2016

Photo Source - Wikipedia

Emily wanted to attend university to become a doctor but was denied that opportunity here in Toronto because she was a woman. So off she went to more enlightened New York City. This Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque can be seen in the Dr. Jean Davey Rose Garden on the north side of the Women's College Hospital parking lot. Here's what it has to say:

Coordinates: 43.661733 -79.3884

Click here for a larger map

Emily Stowe's crusade for female suffrage and higher education for women placed her in the vanguard of the women's rights movement in Canada. Denied access to university in this country because of her gender, she studied medicine in New York City, then moved to Toronto where, in 1867, she opened the first private practice in Canada run by a woman doctor. In 1883 Dr. Stowe spearheaded the drive to found Woman's Medical College in Toronto. Her leadership of the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association kept the issue of suffrage in the public eye during the closing years of the 19th century.

Another plaque at this location
Women's College Hospital

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Women

Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

> Posted April 27, 2012
There is a school in Clarington named after her. She was Canada's first woman school principal as well, having been a school teacher in Norwich township since the age of 15.

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