Dorothy Ann Malcolm Geddes OBE FRCS (8 May 1936 – 14 March 1998) was the first woman to be appointed to a professorship of dentistry in the United Kingdom.

Dorothy Geddes
Born(1936-05-08)8 May 1936
Alloa, Scotland
Died14 March 1998(1998-03-14) (aged 61)
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)Oral surgeon, academic
Known forFirst woman to be appointed to a professorship of dentistry in the United Kingdom

Life edit

Dorothy Ann Malcolm Geddes was born in Alloa, Scotland on 8 May 1936. She attended Brechin High School, going on to study dentistry at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1959. She worked for most of her career at University of Glasgow where she was Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery. Geddes' specialism was oral surgery. She was the first woman to be awarded Fellowship in Dental Surgery (FRCS) of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, in 1963.[1][2][3] She was a distinguished teacher and researcher and gained a personal chair. She was President of the Royal Odonto-Chirugical Society of Scotland, President of the West of Scotland Branch of the British Dental Association, and Convener of the Dental Council.

Death and legacy edit

Geddes died 14 March 1998. The University of Glasgow established the Dorothy Geddes Multimedia Laboratory to promote the application of new, cutting-edge technology to the teaching of oral biology.[4] The university also awards the Geddes Research Fellowship and medal.

She is remembered as a "modest, quiet woman with a wicked sense of humour, who is remembered with universal affection and more than a little awe".[5]

Awards and honours edit

References edit

  1. ^ "University of Glasgow :: World Changing:: First female Professor of Dentistry in the UK". www.worldchanging.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Professor Dorothy Geddes". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ^ "A pioneering history: dentistry and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh" (PDF).
  4. ^ "University of Glasgow - Schools - Dental School - Undergraduate - Facilities - Dorothy Geddes Multimedia Laboratory". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Vignette: First female UK professor of dentistry Dorothy Geddes (1936-1998)". MDDUS. Retrieved 9 June 2017.