Isabel Jane Thorne (née Pryer; September 22, 1834 - October 9, 1910) was a pioneering campaigner for women’s medical education and a key member of the "Edinburgh Seven".Queer Places:
148 Harley St, London W1G 7LG, UK
St John the Baptist Churchyard, 59 Southover High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1JA
Isabel Jane Thorne (née Pryer; September 22, 1834 - October 9, 1910) was a pioneering campaigner for women’s medical education and a key member of the "Edinburgh Seven".
Born in London to Isabel and Thomas Pryer, a solicitor, she was educated at Queen’s College, London. In 1856, she married Joseph Thorne, a tea merchant. The couple lived in Shanghai for several years, where the death of one of their children deeply influenced her desire to improve medical access for women and children in China and India.
Upon returning to England in 1868, Thorne sought midwifery training, but finding the instruction inadequate, she responded to Sophia Jex-Blake’s advertisement to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. As one of the Edinburgh Seven, she proved to be a dedicated student, winning a prize in anatomy. However, after the group’s struggle to graduate was thwarted by legal and institutional barriers, Thorne pivoted from her personal ambition of becoming a doctor to focus on administrative support.
She served as the Honorary Secretary of the London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) from 1877 to 1908, where her tact and diplomatic skill were credited with keeping the institution stable and successful. She documented these efforts in her 1905 work, Sketch of the Foundation and Development of the London School of Medicine for Women. Isabel Thorne resided at 148 Harley St in London. She passed away at this home on 9 October 1910. and is interred in Lewes.
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