Medical Pioneer. She was the first woman in Canada to legally become a medical doctor. Born Jannett "Jennie" Kidd Gowanlock in Wooden Mills, Kelso, Scotland, she emigrated with her parents to Canada in 1847, settling near Stratford, Ontario where they lived on a ten-acre farm. In 1860 she moved to Toronto, Canada, and attended the Normal School. Upon graduating a year later, she returned to Stratford and taught school for the next four years. In 1865 she married Edward Trout and they moved to Toronto, where he ran a newspaper. Motivated by her own chronic illnesses, she decided on a medical career, passing her matriculation exam in 1871 and studying medicine at the University of Toronto. She, along with Emily Jennings Stowe, were the first women admitted to the Toronto School of Medicine by special arrangement, but Stowe refused to take her exams in protest of the school's treatment of the two women. Trout later transferred to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she earned her medical degree on March 11, 1875 and become the first licensed female physician in Canada. She opened the Therapeutic and Electrical Institute in Toronto, which specialized in treatments for women involving "galvanic baths or electricity" and also ran a free dispensary for the poor for six years at the same location. The Institute proved to be quite successful, and branches were later opened in Brantford and Hamilton, Ontario. She retired in 1882 due to her poor health and she and her husband spent their winters in Palma Sola, Florida, returning to Toronto for the summers. She was later instrumental in the establishment of a medical school for women at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She later moved to Los Angeles, California, where she died at her home at the age of 80.
Medical Pioneer. She was the first woman in Canada to legally become a medical doctor. Born Jannett "Jennie" Kidd Gowanlock in Wooden Mills, Kelso, Scotland, she emigrated with her parents to Canada in 1847, settling near Stratford, Ontario where they lived on a ten-acre farm. In 1860 she moved to Toronto, Canada, and attended the Normal School. Upon graduating a year later, she returned to Stratford and taught school for the next four years. In 1865 she married Edward Trout and they moved to Toronto, where he ran a newspaper. Motivated by her own chronic illnesses, she decided on a medical career, passing her matriculation exam in 1871 and studying medicine at the University of Toronto. She, along with Emily Jennings Stowe, were the first women admitted to the Toronto School of Medicine by special arrangement, but Stowe refused to take her exams in protest of the school's treatment of the two women. Trout later transferred to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she earned her medical degree on March 11, 1875 and become the first licensed female physician in Canada. She opened the Therapeutic and Electrical Institute in Toronto, which specialized in treatments for women involving "galvanic baths or electricity" and also ran a free dispensary for the poor for six years at the same location. The Institute proved to be quite successful, and branches were later opened in Brantford and Hamilton, Ontario. She retired in 1882 due to her poor health and she and her husband spent their winters in Palma Sola, Florida, returning to Toronto for the summers. She was later instrumental in the establishment of a medical school for women at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. She later moved to Los Angeles, California, where she died at her home at the age of 80.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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