Elizabeth Hurdon

Elizabeth Hurdon (28 January 1868 – 29 January 1941) was a British gynecologist and pathologist, considered the first gynecological pathologist.

Early life and education Hurdon was born in Bodmin, Cornwall to John and Ann (Coom) Hurdon, one of three daughters. The family emigrated to Canada when she was young. She was the first woman in the professional staff of Johns Hopkins Hospital and the faculty of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU). With co-author Howard Kelly she published the first thorough look at the pathology of the appendix, The Vermiform Appendix and Its Diseases, in 1905.

She also had her own private practice in Baltimore, Maryland and served on the board of the Evening Dispensary For Working Women and Girls. In 1916 she took a leave of absence from Johns Hopkins and joined the British Royal Army Medical Corps. She was one of 82 women physicians in the Women's Medical Unit, treating casualties from Gallipoli. She worked as a Civilian Surgeon attached to the RAMC. She resigned from that position in 1919. She toured centers for radium therapy in the United States and Europe collecting information on treatment practices. In addition to being supported by wealthy donors, it also received support from prominent feminists of the time, campaigning for improvements to women's welfare where radiotherapy was seen as more compassionate care for cancer. She died at her home in Exeter in January 1941.