Dorothea Chalmers Smith

Elizabeth "Dorothea" Chalmers Smith née Lyness (1874 – 1944) was a pioneer medical doctor and a militant Scottish suffragette. She was imprisoned for eight months for breaking and entering, and attempted arson, where she went on hunger strike.

Early life Born in Dennistoun, Glasgow, Elizabeth Dorothea Lyness graduated from medicine from the University of Glasgow in 1894, and worked at the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women in Glasgow.

She married Reverend William Chalmers Smith, minister of Calton Church, Glasgow in 1901. They had six children born between 1900 and 1911.

Political Activity Chalmers Smith joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1912, but her enthusiasm for extreme militancy was not welcomed by her husband, who believed adamantly that a woman's place was in the home.

Chalmers Smith, alongside artist Ethel Moorhead, attempted to set fire to a house at 6 Park Gardens in Glasgow on 23 July 1913. They were caught red-handed by multiple witnesses. In one room firefighters found matches, firelighters, six flasks of paraffin, candles, and a postcard bearing the words: 'A protest against Mrs Pankhurst's re-arrest'.

Both women went on hunger strike immediately. When they became physically weak they were released from prison under the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill Health) Act , known as the Cat and Mouse Act, which was introduced in April 1913, and allowed for the re-arrest of prisoners once their health improved.

The Suffragette Oak on Kelvinway was planted in 1918 to celebrate women’s first opportunity to vote in a general election and stands as a memorial to the likes of Helen Crawfurd, Dorothea Chalmers Smith, Jessie Stephen and Frances McPhun.

Commemoration Chalmers Smith is described as a "Trailblazer" by the tour company Gallus Pedals with a bicycle being named after her. The website's bicycles commemorates the trailblazers in several different categories. Chalmers Smith is in the category "Pioneers in Science and Medicine", along with Marion Gilchrist and Muriel Robertson.