Stowe, Dr. Emily National Historic Person
Toronto, Ontario
Address :
76 Grenville Street, Toronto, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1995-07-06
Life Date:
1831 to 1903
Other Name(s):
-
Stowe, Dr. Emily
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
1995-023
Importance:
First female practising doctor in Canada; organizer of women's medical college and suffrage leader
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 76 Grenville Street, Toronto, Ontario
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.