It’s no secret that sapphic love stories are often intentionally excluded from history books, but some relationships are so powerful that their legacy survives. That’s the case for Dr. Jex Blake and Dr. Margaret Todd, two lesbian doctors from the 1800s who helped women gain credibility in medicine.

Despite all the social limitations that 1800s society placed on women, Jex Blake was a fiercely independent, outspoken, and ambitious student who dreamed of becoming a doctor. Although it has largely been erased from historical accounts, the doctor was also a lesbian.

Blake attended Queen’s College in London, which was the first British college to accept women. After graduating, she was invited to teach mathematics, but her father forbade her from working, so she decided to volunteer her time in London and teach for free.

During her time there, Blake described her connection to her roommate Harriet Yorke as one of “passionate intimacy,” and historians speculate this was her first romantic relationship with a woman.

 

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Even though she was not legally allowed to attend medical school, Jex remained determined to study medicine. In 1869, she applied to the University of Edinburgh’s medical school alongside a few other incredible women.

Initially, despite their qualifications, they were all rejected. Professor Robert Christison claimed that admitting women would “lower the standing of the medical profession,” but Blake decided to move to Scotland and attend classes anyway.

She studied alongside Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson and a few other trailblazing women who became known as the Edinburgh Seven.

After months of studying, on November 18, 1870, the Edinburgh Seven attempted to take an anatomy exam, but they were met by an angry mob of men who prevented them from entering the university gates. Thankfully, this did not deter them. They all continued to campaign for permission to study, and their efforts attracted publicity and the support of Charles Darwin.

Eventually, they were able to take their exams, but in 1873, the British courts ruled that women were not permitted to graduate with a medical degree due to completely baseless arguments. Even though they successfully passed their exams, the University still denied the women their degrees.

Undeterred, the Edinburgh Seven moved to London and founded the London School of Medicine for Women. Their work paid off because three years later, the UK Medical Act finally began allowing women to officially study and practice medicine. In 1877, she received her MD from the University of Berne and passed her exams in Dublin, making her the third woman to become registered as a doctor in Britain.

 

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It’s worth noting that Jex Blake was considered to be the least socially acceptable woman in the Edinburg Seven because she was the only woman in the group who wasn’t married to a man.

Once she earned her degree, Blake left Europe and moved to a new Boston hospital where she met fellow medic Lucy Sewell. The two quickly became romantic partners and planned to live together, but sadly, these plans were ruined when Blake was forced to return to the UK following the death of her father.

In 1886, Jex Blake helped establish the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women. There, she met Dr. Margaret Todd, who studied at the medical school and graduated with an MD in 1894. Together, they fought for social reform and helped women gain acceptance as credible physicians.

The remarkable work of these two lesbian doctors paved the way for widespread acceptance of women in medicine in the late 19th century. The two were believed to be life partners, and their sapphic love story should be part of history, but Blake requested that all of their letters be destroyed after her death. As one of the founding members of the medical school, Blake knew if her queer identity was exposed, it would be disastrous for the medical school.

In 1918, Margaret Todd published a biography called The Life of Dr Sophia Jex-Blake, which describes her work as a pioneer in women’s medical education, but it does not include any details about their relationship.

Even though so many queer stories are left out of school textbooks, historians are working hard to discover and share more of these stories today. More sapphic love stories and LGBTQ+ history are being shared through some fantastic Instagram LGBTQ+ history accounts.