Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
PHYSICIAN / SUFFRAGIST (1836 - 1917)
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first
British female to qualify as a doctor. Due to
gender barriers, she firstly embarked on
nursing and later Learned French so she
could go to Paris and gain her medical
degree. Anderson also founded the first
female staffed hospital and after a lengthy
career she retired to Aldeburgh in 1902. It was
here she achieved the status of being the first
female mayor in England.
Leona Vicario
JOURNALIST / ACTIVIST (1789 - 1842)
Leona Vicario, one of Mexico's first female
journalists and was one of the most prominent
figures of the Mexican War of Independence
in early 1800s. She was a member of the
secret society Los Guadalupes one of the
earliest independence movements in New
Spain and used much of her family's money to
by arms and supplies for the Independence
fighters. She also wrote messages in code in
El Ilustrador Americano, a newspaper that
supported the movement. Vicario has been
given the title "Distinguished and Beloved
Mother of the Homeland" by the Congress of
the Union. Her name is inscribed in gold in the
Mural of Honor in the lower house of the
Mexican Congress. 2020 was declared the
"Year of Leona Vicario, Benemérita
(Praiseworthy) Madre (Mother) de la Patria (of
the Motherland).
62