Elizabeth Macfarlane Chesser (née Sloan; 18 May 1877 – 16 February 1940) was a British physician and medical journalist, writing and lecturing especially on women's health.
Elizabeth Chesser | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elizabeth Macfarlane Sloan 18 May 1877 Glasgow |
| Died | 16 February 1940 London |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | E. Sloan Chesser |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, medical writer, journalist |
| Relatives | John William Chesser (brother-in-law) |
Early life and education
editElizabeth Macfarlane Sloan was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Elizabeth Macfarlane and Samuel Sloan. Her father was a physician. She attended Queen Margaret College, Glasgow, where she was awarded an MB and ChB in 1901.[1] In 1919 she obtained her medical degree from Glasgow with a thesis titled "Breast-Feeding: Faradisation of the Mammary Glands".[2]
Career
editChesser became a noted medical journalist, for almost twenty years a regular contributor to the Glasgow Herald.[3] By 1914 she had published numerous articles and books on the topic of motherhood, sex education, and childrearing.[4] In 1914 Chesser returned to full-time medical practice, acquiring an address in Harley Street. She threw herself into the war effort, acting as medical officer at the Woolwich arsenal and the Eltham hostels for munitions workers,[5] and working at the Carshalton maternity and child welfare centre. Chesser also became temporary assistant physician at the Queen's Hospital for Children.[1]
Chesser championed the importance of female education, suffrage and employment;[6] she also supported eugenic policies,[7][8] and considered pauperism a personal moral failing.[9] She coined the phrase "suburban neurosis" for the health issues associated with the middle-class housewife of the 1930s.[10] "Her publications and public utterances gave rise to much controversy," explained The Guardian in a 1940 obituary, "but by her vision and foresight she did much to bring the latest teachings of medical science into the homes of the people."[11]
Selected publications
edit- Perfect Health for Women and Children (1913)[12]
- From Girlhood to Womanhood (1913)[13]
- My Baby in Sickness and Health (1913)[13]
- Woman, Marriage and Motherhood (1913)[14]
- Physiology and Hygiene for Girls' Schools and Colleges (1914)
- Health and Psychology of the Child (1925)[15]
- Child Health and Character (1927)[16]
- Youth: A Book for Two Generations (1928)[17][18]
- The Woman Who Knows Herself (1929)[19]
- Seven Stages of Childhood (1937)[20]
- Five Phases of Love (1939)[21]
Personal life
editElizabeth Sloan married Stennett Chesser in 1902. They had two sons, Stennett Sloan Chesser and Samuel John Chesser, both of whom became doctors and served with the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II.[9][3] Elizabeth Sloan Chesser died in 1940, at her home in London, aged 62 years.[6][22]
References
edit- ^ a b "Chesser [née Sloan], Elizabeth Macfarlane". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/57661. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth (September 1918). "Breast-Feeding: Faradisation of the Mammary Glands". The Lancet. 192 (4959): 356. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)95763-5.
- ^ a b "Elizabeth Sloan Chesser". Glasgow Medical Journal. 133 (4): 134–135. April 1940. ISSN 0367-4800. PMC 5942759.
- ^ Rowold, Katharina (9 February 2011). The Educated Woman: Minds, Bodies, and Women's Higher Education in Britain, Germany, and Spain, 1865-1914. Routledge. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-134-62584-0.
- ^ Walter, Margaret (7 March 1920). "New Clothes Better than Pills when Woman is Ill--and Mere Male Will Like Her More". Star Tribune. p. 52. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Obituary" (PDF). British Medical Journal: 370. 2 March 1940.
- ^ Jones, Greta (September 1995). "Women and eugenics in Britain: The case of Mary Scharlieb, Elizabeth Sloan Chesser, and Stella Browne". Annals of Science. 52 (5): 481–502. doi:10.1080/00033799500200361. ISSN 0003-3790. PMID 11640067.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Sloan (11 July 1912). "The Quest of the Superman; The Story of Eugenics". Western Mail. p. 51. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ a b "Dr Elizabeth Sloan-Chesser". The Dinner Puzzle. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Dr. Sloan Chesser Dies; 'Suburban Neurosis'". The Evening News. 14 May 1940. p. 6. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "Obituary: Dr. E. Sloan Chesser". The Guardian. 17 February 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Macfarlane Sloan (1913). Perfect Health for Women and Children. McBride, Nast.
- ^ a b Milne, James (1914). "Books of the Month". The Book Monthly. 11: 272, 363.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Macfarlane Sloan (1913). Woman, Marriage and Motherhood. Cassell & Company.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Sloan (1925). Health and psychology of the child. London : Heinemann.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Sloan (1927). Child health and character. London : Faber and Gwyer Ltd.
- ^ "Youth: A Book for Two Generations". Joplin Globe. 13 October 1929. p. 16. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Macfarlane Sloan (1928). Youth: A Book for Two Generations. E. P. Dutton & Company, Incorporated.
- ^ E.D. (5 May 1929). "No Obscenity Law Will Hald Sales of this Sex Book". Times Union. p. 32. Retrieved 19 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Sloan (1937). Seven stages of childhood. London : Jenkins.
- ^ Chesser, Elizabeth Macfarlane Sloan (1939). Five Phases of Love. Jenkins.
- ^ "DR. E. S. CHESSER, 62, LONDON PHYSICIAN; Woman Psychologist Who Said Few Adults Are Over 17 Years Psychologically Is Dead PRACTICED IN HARLEY ST. Believed the Political World, Particularly Dictatorships, is Ruled by Children". The New York Times. 17 February 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
External links
edit- Five 1938 portraits of E. Sloan Chesser in the National Portrait Gallery (London).