Aleen Cust: Difference between revisions
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'''Aleen Isobel Cust''' (7 February 1868 – 29 January 1937) was the first female veterinary surgeon to be recognised by the [[Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons]] in Ireland and the United Kingdom.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite web|last1=Hall|first1=Sherwin A.|title=Cust, Aleen Isabel (1868–1937)|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/56/101056033/|website=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref> |
'''Aleen Isobel Cust''' (7 February 1868 – 29 January 1937) was the first female veterinary surgeon to be recognised by the [[Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons]] in Ireland and the United Kingdom.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite web|last1=Hall|first1=Sherwin A.|title=Cust, Aleen Isabel (1868–1937)|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/56/101056033/|website=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Dictionary">{{Cite book |ISBN=978-1414418612 |title= Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages |section=Cust, Aleen (1868–1937) |subscription= yes |via=[[HighBeam Research]] |accessdate= 4 June 2015 |date= 1 January 2007 |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2588818896.html }}</ref> |
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== Early life and education == |
== Early life and education == |
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The fourth of six children,<ref name="Hidden Gems">{{cite web|last1=County Roscommon Archaeological and Historical Society|title=Hidden gems and Forgotten People: Aleen Cust (1868–1937)|url=http://www.hidden-gems.eu/roscommon-cust.pdf|website=Hidden Gems|publisher=Hidden Gems|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref> she enjoyed the outdoors as a child, and when asked about her future she claimed "a vet was my reply ever and always."<ref name=Lewis-Stempel>{{cite book|last1=Lewis-Stempel|first1=John|title=Young James Herriot: The Making of the World's Most Famous Vet|date=2012|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4464-1622-8|pages=159–163}}</ref> |
The fourth of six children,<ref name="Hidden Gems">{{cite web|last1=County Roscommon Archaeological and Historical Society|title=Hidden gems and Forgotten People: Aleen Cust (1868–1937)|url=http://www.hidden-gems.eu/roscommon-cust.pdf|website=Hidden Gems|publisher=Hidden Gems|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref> she enjoyed the outdoors as a child, and when asked about her future she claimed "a vet was my reply ever and always."<ref name=Lewis-Stempel>{{cite book|last1=Lewis-Stempel|first1=John|title=Young James Herriot: The Making of the World's Most Famous Vet|date=2012|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4464-1622-8|pages=159–163}}</ref> |
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She began training as a nurse at [[London Hospital]], but gave it up to become a veterinary surgeon.<ref name="ODNB" /> Following the death of her father in 1878, Major Shallcross Fitzherbert Widdington, her guardian, encouraged her to pursue an education and funded her attendance at [[William Williams (veterinarian)|William Williams]]'s New Veterinary College in Edinburgh.<ref name=Vincent>{{cite web|last1=Vincent|first1=Nicky|title=History of Women Veterinarians|url=http://www.vetsonline.com/publications/veterinary-times/archives/n-43-32/history-of-women-veterinarians.html|website=Vets Online|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref> As her mother was acting as a [[Woman of the Bedchamber]] to [[Queen Victoria]],<ref name=Haines>{{cite book|last1=Haines|first1=Catharine M.C.|title=International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950|date=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-57607-090-1|pages=79–80}}</ref> Cust enrolled under the name A.I. Custance to avoid any embarrassment for her family.<ref name=Haines /> She completed her veterinary studies in 1897, winning the gold medal for zoology,<ref name=Haines /> but was denied permission to sit the final examination and consequently not be admitted as a member of [[Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons]] (RCVS).<ref name=Vincent /> She took a case to the [[Court of Session]], seeking to overturn the decision of the RCVS examination committee, but the court declined to rule on the basis that the RCVS was not domiciled in Scotland.<ref name=Haines /> She refrained from legal action in London, perhaps due to the potential cost, or potential social embarrassment to her mother.<ref name=Lewis-Stempel /> |
She began training as a nurse at [[London Hospital]], but gave it up to become a veterinary surgeon.<ref name="ODNB" /> Following the death of her father in 1878, Major Shallcross Fitzherbert Widdington, her guardian, encouraged her to pursue an education and funded her attendance at [[William Williams (veterinarian)|William Williams]]'s New Veterinary College in Edinburgh.<ref name=Vincent>{{cite web|last1=Vincent|first1=Nicky|title=History of Women Veterinarians|url=http://www.vetsonline.com/publications/veterinary-times/archives/n-43-32/history-of-women-veterinarians.html|website=Vets Online|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Dictionary"/> As her mother was acting as a [[Woman of the Bedchamber]] to [[Queen Victoria]],<ref name=Haines>{{cite book|last1=Haines|first1=Catharine M.C.|title=International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950|date=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1-57607-090-1|pages=79–80}}</ref> Cust enrolled under the name A.I. Custance to avoid any embarrassment for her family.<ref name=Haines /> She completed her veterinary studies in 1897, winning the gold medal for zoology,<ref name=Haines /> but was denied permission to sit the final examination and consequently not be admitted as a member of [[Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons]] (RCVS).<ref name=Vincent /> She took a case to the [[Court of Session]], seeking to overturn the decision of the RCVS examination committee, but the court declined to rule on the basis that the RCVS was not domiciled in Scotland.<ref name=Haines /> She refrained from legal action in London, perhaps due to the potential cost, or potential social embarrassment to her mother.<ref name=Lewis-Stempel /> |
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== Career == |
== Career == |
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Upon the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1915, Cust left Ireland to volunteer at the front and appears to have aided in the treatment and care of horses<ref name=Vincent /><ref name="Hidden Gems" /> working with the [[YMCA]] from a base near [[Abbeville]].<ref name=Haines /> In 1917 she was appointed an army bacteriology laboratory which was associated with a veterinary hospital.<ref name="Scott Nolen" /> She is listed as a member of the [[Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps]] from January to November 1918 and it has been suggested that it was her war time work that aided in her acceptance in the RCVS after the war.<ref name="Scott Nolen" /> |
Upon the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1915, Cust left Ireland to volunteer at the front and appears to have aided in the treatment and care of horses<ref name=Vincent /><ref name="Hidden Gems" /> working with the [[YMCA]] from a base near [[Abbeville]].<ref name=Haines /> In 1917 she was appointed an army bacteriology laboratory which was associated with a veterinary hospital.<ref name="Scott Nolen" /> She is listed as a member of the [[Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps]] from January to November 1918 and it has been suggested that it was her war time work that aided in her acceptance in the RCVS after the war.<ref name="Scott Nolen" /> |
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The [[Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons]] in London did not recognise her right to practice in her own right in Britain until 1922<ref>{{cite book |author=Nicholson, Virginia |title=Singled Out |year=2007 |publisher=Viking |isbn=0-670-91564-5 |page=242}}</ref> following the enactment of the [[Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goodwin|first1=Charlie|title=50 Years a Country Veterinarian|date=1983|publisher=Mika Publishing|location=Belleville Ontario|pages=21–22}}</ref><ref name="Ask About Ireland" /> Given her years of experience, she was only asked to take the oral part of the final examination.<ref name="ODNB" /> On 21 December 1922, the president of the RCVS, Henry Sumner, personally presented Cust with her diploma, becoming the first woman to be awarded such a diploma.<ref name="Scott Nolen">{{cite web|last1=Scott Nolen|first1=R.|title=Britain's first woman veterinarian|url=https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/110601v.aspx|website=American Veterinary Medical Association|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref><ref>"The First Woman Veterinary Surgeon", ''The British Medical Journal'', Vol. 2, No. 3234 (Dec. 23, 1922) , p. 1236; http://www.jstor.org/stable/20422053</ref> |
The [[Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons]] in London did not recognise her right to practice in her own right in Britain until 1922<ref>{{cite book |author=Nicholson, Virginia |title=Singled Out |year=2007 |publisher=Viking |isbn=0-670-91564-5 |page=242}}</ref> following the enactment of the [[Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goodwin|first1=Charlie|title=50 Years a Country Veterinarian|date=1983|publisher=Mika Publishing|location=Belleville Ontario|pages=21–22}}</ref><ref name="Ask About Ireland" /><ref name="Dictionary"/> Given her years of experience, she was only asked to take the oral part of the final examination.<ref name="ODNB" /> On 21 December 1922, the president of the RCVS, Henry Sumner, personally presented Cust with her diploma, becoming the first woman to be awarded such a diploma.<ref name="Scott Nolen">{{cite web|last1=Scott Nolen|first1=R.|title=Britain's first woman veterinarian|url=https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/110601v.aspx|website=American Veterinary Medical Association|accessdate=8 February 2015}}</ref><ref>"The First Woman Veterinary Surgeon", ''The British Medical Journal'', Vol. 2, No. 3234 (Dec. 23, 1922) , p. 1236; http://www.jstor.org/stable/20422053</ref><ref name="Dictionary"/> |
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== Later life and recognition == |
== Later life and recognition == |
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Due to failing health, Cust only continued to practice as a veterinarian for another two years, retiring in 1924.<ref name=Vincent /> Having sold her practice, she moved to the village of [[Plaitford]], in the [[New Forest]] in [[Hampshire]], England.<ref name="Hidden Gems" /> She died of heart failure<ref name="Hidden Gems" /> in Jamaica on 29 January 1937 whilst visiting friends.<ref name=Vincent /> |
Due to failing health, Cust only continued to practice as a veterinarian for another two years, retiring in 1924.<ref name=Vincent /> Having sold her practice, she moved to the village of [[Plaitford]], in the [[New Forest]] in [[Hampshire]], England.<ref name="Hidden Gems" /> She died of heart failure<ref name="Hidden Gems" /> in Jamaica on 29 January 1937 whilst visiting friends.<ref name=Vincent /> |
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Upon her death she left the RCVS a sum of money to found the Aleen Cust Research Scholarship.<ref name=Haines /> In 2007 a plaque was erected in honour of Cust at Castlestrange House, Athleague by Women in Technology and Science and the National Committee for Commemorative Plaques in Science and Engineering, with support from Veterinary Ireland.<ref name="O'Connell" /> |
Upon her death she left the RCVS a sum of money to found the Aleen Cust Research Scholarship.<ref name=Haines /><ref name="Dictionary"/> In 2007 a plaque was erected in honour of Cust at Castlestrange House, Athleague by Women in Technology and Science and the National Committee for Commemorative Plaques in Science and Engineering, with support from Veterinary Ireland.<ref name="O'Connell" /> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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[[Category:Irish veterinarians]] |
[[Category:Irish veterinarians]] |
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[[Category:Irish people of World War I]] |
[[Category:Irish people of World War I]] |
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[[Category:Women veterinarians]] |
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Revision as of 18:52, 4 June 2015
Aleen Cust | |
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| Born | Aleen Isobel Cust 7 February 1868 County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Died | 29 January 1937 (aged 68) |
| Occupation | Veterinary surgeon |
| Known for | First woman veterinary surgeon in the British Isles |
Aleen Isobel Cust (7 February 1868 – 29 January 1937) was the first female veterinary surgeon to be recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Ireland and the United Kingdom.[1][2]
Early life and education
Aleen Cust was born in 1868 in Cordangan Manor, County Tipperary. Her father Sir Leopold Cust, 2nd Baronet was the grandson of Brownlow Cust, 1st Baron Brownlow, and worked as a land agent to the Smith-Barry family.[3] Her mother Charlotte Sobieske Isabel (née Bridgeman) was the daughter of Vice-Admiral Charles Orlando Bridgeman, and granddaughter of Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Earl of Bradford and Sir Henry Chamberlain, 1st Baronet.[1]
The fourth of six children,[4] she enjoyed the outdoors as a child, and when asked about her future she claimed "a vet was my reply ever and always."[5]
She began training as a nurse at London Hospital, but gave it up to become a veterinary surgeon.[1] Following the death of her father in 1878, Major Shallcross Fitzherbert Widdington, her guardian, encouraged her to pursue an education and funded her attendance at William Williams's New Veterinary College in Edinburgh.[6][2] As her mother was acting as a Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria,[7] Cust enrolled under the name A.I. Custance to avoid any embarrassment for her family.[7] She completed her veterinary studies in 1897, winning the gold medal for zoology,[7] but was denied permission to sit the final examination and consequently not be admitted as a member of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).[6] She took a case to the Court of Session, seeking to overturn the decision of the RCVS examination committee, but the court declined to rule on the basis that the RCVS was not domiciled in Scotland.[7] She refrained from legal action in London, perhaps due to the potential cost, or potential social embarrassment to her mother.[5]
Career
Cust nevertheless went on to practise in County Roscommon with William Augustine Byrne MRCVS,[3] having received a personal recommendation from William Williams,[6] and lived at Castlestrange House (location of the Castlestrange stone, in the Suck Valley) near Athleague.[4] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that there is reason to believe that Byrne and Cust and "lived as man and wife and that she had two daughters, born in Scotland, who were later adopted".[1] She was briefly engaged to the son of her former guardian, Bertram Widdington, in 1904, but upon objections from his family regarding her career, the wedding did not go ahead.[8]
Cust was later appointed veterinary inspector by Galway County Council under the Diseases of Animals Acts, an appointment that was denied by the RCVS due to her lack of professional recognition.[6] The post was advertised again, and when Cust was again selected for the post an agreement was reached where she carried out the duties with an amended title.[6] Upon the death of Byrne in 1910, Cust took over the veterinary practice.[4] She practised from Fort Lyster House near Athleague.[9] (Both Castlestrange and Fort Lyster were later demolished.[10])
Upon the outbreak of World War I in 1915, Cust left Ireland to volunteer at the front and appears to have aided in the treatment and care of horses[6][4] working with the YMCA from a base near Abbeville.[7] In 1917 she was appointed an army bacteriology laboratory which was associated with a veterinary hospital.[11] She is listed as a member of the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps from January to November 1918 and it has been suggested that it was her war time work that aided in her acceptance in the RCVS after the war.[11]
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in London did not recognise her right to practice in her own right in Britain until 1922[12] following the enactment of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919.[13][3][2] Given her years of experience, she was only asked to take the oral part of the final examination.[1] On 21 December 1922, the president of the RCVS, Henry Sumner, personally presented Cust with her diploma, becoming the first woman to be awarded such a diploma.[11][14][2]
Later life and recognition
Due to failing health, Cust only continued to practice as a veterinarian for another two years, retiring in 1924.[6] Having sold her practice, she moved to the village of Plaitford, in the New Forest in Hampshire, England.[4] She died of heart failure[4] in Jamaica on 29 January 1937 whilst visiting friends.[6]
Upon her death she left the RCVS a sum of money to found the Aleen Cust Research Scholarship.[7][2] In 2007 a plaque was erected in honour of Cust at Castlestrange House, Athleague by Women in Technology and Science and the National Committee for Commemorative Plaques in Science and Engineering, with support from Veterinary Ireland.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e Hall, Sherwin A. "Cust, Aleen Isabel (1868–1937)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Cust, Aleen (1868–1937)". Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. 1 January 2007. ISBN 978-1414418612. Retrieved 4 June 2015 – via HighBeam Research.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Ask About Ireland. "Aleen Cust (1868–1937)". Ask About Ireland. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f County Roscommon Archaeological and Historical Society. "Hidden gems and Forgotten People: Aleen Cust (1868–1937)" (PDF). Hidden Gems. Hidden Gems. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ a b Lewis-Stempel, John (2012). Young James Herriot: The Making of the World's Most Famous Vet. Random House. pp. 159–163. ISBN 978-1-4464-1622-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Vincent, Nicky. "History of Women Veterinarians". Vets Online. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Haines, Catharine M.C. (2001). International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950. Oxford: ABC-CLIO. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-1-57607-090-1.
- ^ a b O'Connell, Claire (2009). "First in Their Field". In Mulvihill, Mary (ed.). Lab Coats and Lace. Dublin: WITS. pp. 37–41. ISBN 978-0-9531953-1-2.
- ^ House: Fort William/Fort Lyster, Landed Estates Database
- ^ Our cultural revolution: A lament for reason, Roscommon People
- ^ a b c Scott Nolen, R. "Britain's first woman veterinarian". American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ Nicholson, Virginia (2007). Singled Out. Viking. p. 242. ISBN 0-670-91564-5.
- ^ Goodwin, Charlie (1983). 50 Years a Country Veterinarian. Belleville Ontario: Mika Publishing. pp. 21–22.
- ^ "The First Woman Veterinary Surgeon", The British Medical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3234 (Dec. 23, 1922) , p. 1236; http://www.jstor.org/stable/20422053
Further reading
- Ford, Connie M. (1990). "Aleen Cust, Veterinary Surgeon – Britain's First Woman Vet". Biopress. ISBN 0-948737-11-5
- Ó hÓgartaigh, Margaret (2006). 'Female Veterinary Surgeons in Ireland, 1900-30', Irish Veterinary Journal, 59: pp. 388–389.
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