The Edinburgh Seven leader who secured university education for women

Sophia Jex-Blake is well known as the leader of the Edinburgh Seven campaign, which helped to secure a woman’s right to study at university.

What is now also known is that she secretly wrote for The Scotsman to push her cause in a number of leader articles, which were written at the height of her fight.

Jex-Blake first turned to the newspaper to place an advertisement in 1869 after being denied a place to study medicine at Edinburgh University, which claimed it couldn’t justify making arrangements “in the interest of one lady”.

In the newspaper, she urged more women to come forward and enrol. The long running Edinburgh Seven campaign was born and a long – and apparently deep – association with the newspaper began.

Sophia Jex-Blake, leader of the Edinburgh Seven and secret journalist for The Scotsman.

The Edinburgh Seven campaigners suffered intimidation and abuse as they attended the university, with their attempts to sit an anatomy exam leading to a riot after an angry mob gathered at Surgeon’s Hall in 1870.

The incident attracted widespread publicity and won greater public support for the campaign, which won the backing of several high-profile figures, including Charles Darwin.

editor Alexander Russel, who married one of the Edinburgh Seven, also openly supported the women. Following research by Sarah J. Ghasedi, English lecturer at Washington University, it is now known the newspaper printed several leaders written anonymously by Jex-Blake, who used the cover of the paper to protect the message from widespread prejudice against women.

In 1889, largely as a result of the struggles of Jex-Blake, an Act of Parliament sanctioned degrees for women and she became one of the first female doctors in the UK.

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