Alice Robson


Alice Robson, born Alice Lilian Louise Cumming, was a Scottish medical doctor and one of the first two women to be awarded a medical degree in Scotland.

Early life and education

Robson was born in Houston, Renfrewshire on November 22, 1870. Her father, James S. Cumming, was a general practitioner.
Based in the city centre, Robson, then Cumming, attended Queen Margaret College, studying arts before enrolling at Glasgow University to study medicine.
In 1894, Cumming received a Bachelor of Medicine and a Certified Midwife from the University of Glasgow. With Marion Gilchrist, she was one of the first two women who graduated in medicine in 1894. Robson graduated alongside doctor and suffragette Marion Gilchrist. They were first women to ever be awarded medical degrees in Scotland and they were featured in the international press.
It was written that Cumming would practice as an assistant in her father's practice in Blythswood Square, Glasgow.
In 1899, Cumming received a Doctor of Public Health from the University of Cambridge.

Career

In 1904, Robson chaired a meeting of Ladies' Discussion Society. This was reported on by the Cambridge Independent Press, who referred to Robson as a "qualified medical woman."
Robson worked for the Cambridge Charity Organisation Society and Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Personal life

In 1901, Robson married Henry Robson, a Scottish mathematician and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Henry Robson later became the Bursar of Sidney Sussex College.
Alice and Henry Robson lived at 10 Park Terrace, Cambridge. They lived in Cambridge and had four daughters.