Papers of Harriet Bird

This material is held atRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Archives

  • Reference
    • GB 1538 S72
  • Dates of Creation
    • 2 January 1899
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
    • English
  • Physical Description
    • 1 folder

Scope and Content

Manuscript testimonial written in German by Ernst Wertheim for Harriet Bird following her three-month study in his gynaecological department at the Elizabeth Hospital, Vienna (October - December 1898); together with a brief biography of Harriet Bird written by her only son, giving details of her medical studies and brief career as a house-surgeon at Leith Hospital (c.1899 - 1901).

Administrative / Biographical History

Harriet Amelia Scott Bird was born in County Durham in 1864 and studied medicine at the Medical College for Women, Edinburgh, 1893-1898. On graduation she went to Vienna to study gynaecology under Ernst Wertheim at the Elizabeth Hospital in Vienna (1898) and then to Berlin, before returning to Scotland to take a role as non-resident house surgeon, Leith Hospital. She gave up medicine after her marriage in 1901, and died in 1934.

Access Information

Open to researchers by appointment, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. mailto: archives@rcog.org.uk

Archivist's Note

Catalogued by Penny Hutchins.

Conditions Governing Use

Out of copyright.

Reproductions are available at the discretion of the College Archivist.

Custodial History

Donated to the RCOG Library by the son of Harriet Bird in 1973, and passed to the College Archive in August 2007.

Geographical Names