Jennie Kidd Trout

Jennie Kidd Trout (born Gowanlock; April 21, 1841 – November 10, 1921) was the first woman in Canada to become a licensed medical doctor, on March 11, 1875. Trout was the only woman in Canada licensed to practice medicine until July 1880, when Emily Stowe completed the official qualifications.

Born in Wooden Mills, Kelso, Scotland, Jennie (whose name is variously spelled 'Jenny') moved with her parents to Canada in 1847, settling near Stratford, Ontario. Trout had taken a course in teaching after graduation, and had taught until her marriage to Edward Trout. She married Trout in 1865 and thereafter moved to Toronto, where Edward 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. Trout and Emily Jennings Stowe were together the first women admitted to the Toronto School of Medicine, by special arrangement. Stowe, however, refused to sit her exams in protest of the school's demeaning treatment of the two women. Trout later transferred to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she earned her M.D. on March 11, 1875 and became the first licensed female physician in Canada.^[1]

Trout then opened the Therapeutic and Electrical Institute in Toronto, which specialized in treatments for women involving "galvanic baths or electricity." For six years, she also ran a free dispensary for the poor at the same location. The Institute was quite successful, later opening branches in Brantford and Hamilton, Ontario.^[1]

Due to poor health, Trout retired in 1882 to Palma Sola, Florida. She was later instrumental in the establishment of a medical school for women at Queen's University in Kingston.^[2] Her family travelled extensively between Florida and Ontario, and later moved to Los Angeles, California, where she died in 1921.^[1]

In 1871, at the age of 30, Trout enrolled in the Toronto School of Medicine in Toronto, Ontario, entering the institution's one-year qualifying course at a time when Canadian medical schools did not ordinarily admit women.^[3][4]

The school operated as an independent medical college associated with the University of Toronto, and its admission policies allowed women to attend lectures under special arrangements.^[3][5] Another woman physician, Emily Stowe, also attended lectures during this period.^[3]

Male students responded to the women's presence with open hostility. Lectures were disrupted by "a storm of hisses, stamping, and vulgar remarks." Students covered the classroom blackboards with obscene drawings and insulting caricatures directed at the women and shouted interruptions from the benches. The atmosphere became so disorderly that instructors struggled to maintain control of the class.^[6]

Despite the hostility, Trout performed well academically and completed the qualifying course.^[5][3] The experience made clear that women faced formidable barriers to completing a medical education in Canada. After about a year of study in Toronto, Trout concluded that continuing her training there was not a realistic option.^[4]

She therefore left Canada to pursue medical education in the United States, enrolling at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.^[3][5][4] Founded in 1850, the institution was one of the few medical schools in North America established specifically to train women physicians.^[6] There Trout received the clinical instruction and hospital experience that were largely unavailable to women in Canadian medical schools at the time.^[5]

Trout studied there for several years and graduated with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in March 1875, at the age of 33.^[3][5]

Returning to Ontario, her American degree did not automatically grant her the right to practise medicine. She was required to satisfy the licensing requirements of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which required foreign-trained physicians to pass its examinations before practising in the province.^[3][4] Trout sat the examinations later in 1875 and passed, becoming the first woman formally licensed to practise medicine in Canada.^[3][5][4]

In the decades following her death, Trout came to be recognized as a pioneering figure in Canadian medical history and in the advancement of women's access to the medical profession.

In 1991, Canada Post issued a commemorative postage stamp honouring Trout as the first woman licensed to practise medicine in Canada. The stamp formed part of the Canadian Doctors series highlighting influential figures in Canadian medical history.^[7][8]

Trout was designated a National Historic Person by the Government of Canada in 1995, recognizing her role in overcoming barriers to women's participation in medical education and practice in the nineteenth century.^[3]

Her life and career were later depicted in a Heritage Minute produced by Historica Canada, a series of short historical films highlighting significant moments and individuals in Canadian history.^[9]

On 21 April 2018, Google marked the 177th anniversary of Trout's birth with a Google Doodle displayed on its homepage in Canada and several other countries.^[10]

Her contributions to medicine were further recognized in 2025 when she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, which honours individuals who have made major contributions to health sciences and medical practice in Canada.^[11]

Trout's achievements have also been highlighted by professional and historical organizations concerned with the history of women in medicine, including educational initiatives by the Ontario Medical Association.^[12]

• Canadian Women's Suffrage Association

• GOWANLOCK, JENNY KIDD (Trout), Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Historica Minute video and details, with links to lesson plans
• Jennie (Jenny) Kidd Trout (The Canadian Encyclopedia)
• Jennie Kidd Gowanlock Trout, biographical page from a descendant
• Famous Canadian Physicians at Library and Archives Canada