12 Facts About Elizabeth Bagshaw

Elizabeth Catherine Bagshaw was one of Canada's first woman physicians.

Elizabeth Bagshaw was the medical director of the first birth control clinic in Canada, located in Hamilton, Ontario.

Elizabeth Bagshaw's father died in July 1904 in a farm accident, which left Bagshaw in charge of the family farm which spanned 89 hectares.

Elizabeth Bagshaw registered at the University of Toronto in September 1901 as an occasional student; this enabled her to obtain a degree from this university while taking most of her courses at the neighbouring Ontario Medical College for Women, which would later become Women's College Hospital.

In 1905 Elizabeth became Doctor Bagshaw and graduated from the University of Toronto.

In 1934, Elizabeth Bagshaw entered politics, seeking to fill the Ward 1 aldermanic seat being vacated by Nora-Frances Henderson, one of Hamilton's first elected female local politicians who sought election to the city's Board of Control.

From 1932 until 1966, Elizabeth Bagshaw was the medical director of Canada's first birth control clinic.

Elizabeth Bagshaw retired at the age of 95 in 1976, the oldest practicing physician in Canada at the time.

Shortly before World War I, Elizabeth Bagshaw met Lou Honey, a Canadian soldier, who was killed shortly after enlisting in 1915.

Elizabeth Bagshaw corresponded with a man named Jimmie Dickinson while at the University of Toronto and kept in touch with him for years after their graduation in 1905.

In 1921, nearing her 40th birthday, Elizabeth Bagshaw began a friendship with Rocco Perri, a man known as the king of bootleggers.

Elizabeth Bagshaw attended church her whole life and belonged to a temperance organization; however, she had a tendency to become involved with law-breakers.