Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen Canada’s first female doctor to graduate from a Canadian university
On my walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, I arrived at the mausoleum and visited the columbarium of Dr. Ann Augusta Stowe-Gullen, Canada’s first female physician to graduate from a Canadian university.
She was the daughter of Dr. Emily Stowe, the first woman to practise medicine in Canada and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights. Emily Stowe was the second woman to be licensed as a physician in Canada (having graduated from the New York Medical College for Women, which taught homeopathic medicine) — her daughter Ann being the first (Faculty of Medicine at Victoria College, Cobourg).
Together, this remarkable mother and daughter broke barriers and opened doors in a country that had yet to accept women in such a male-dominated profession. Their legacy endures as a testament to courage, perseverance, and the pursuit of equality.
Dr. Stowe-Gullen also helped her mother establish the Woman’s Medical College, which opened in Toronto in 1883. In 1895, the school was renamed the Ontario Medical College for Women, and it would later evolve into Women’s College Hospital, a vital medical institution that continues to serve the community today.
Beyond medicine, Dr. Stowe-Gullen was a trailblazer in education and women’s rights. In 1892, she was elected as a trustee to the Toronto Board of Education, succeeded her mother as president of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association, and was a founding member of the National Council of Women. In 1935, this tireless advocate and educator was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her enormous contributions.
Her famous words, which we can all learn from—especially in today’s world—still resonate:
“When women have a voice in national and international affairs, wars will cease forever.”
Dr. Ann Augustus Stowe-Gullen died in Toronto on September 25, 1943 at the age of 86.
Above Dr. Stowe-Gullen’s crypt lies her husband a physician, Dr. John Benjamin Gullen. They were the first two doctors united in marriage in Canada.
