Born: 1858 (Ryde, Sydney)
Died: 1917
Biography:
Laura Elizabeth Forster (1858–1917) was an Australian medical doctor, surgeon, and nurse noted for her service in France, Belgium, Turkey, and Russia during World War I.
Early life and education:
Laura Elizabeth Forster was born in the Sydney suburb of Ryde in 1858 to William Forster (1818-1882), a landowner, poet, politician, and Premier of New South Wales during 1859–1860, and his wife Eliza Jane Wall (1828-1862). Laura was the fifth of six children from this marriage. Unfortunately, her mother passed away in 1862, and her father remarried Maud Julia Edwards (1846-1893), with whom he had five more children. Tragically, three of Laura’s half-brothers were killed in World War I while serving in the Australian Imperial Force.
Shortly after her father’s death in 1882, Laura accompanied her stepmother and half-sister, Enid, to England. Laura remained in England while her stepmother eventually married John Burn Murdoch, a captain in the Royal Engineers.
Forster received her education in Sydney and attended Sydney schools until about 1879. On November 1, 1887, she enrolled as a medical student at the University of Bern in Switzerland. During her time at Bern University, she focused her research on muscle spindle fibers at the Pathological Institute, completing 12 semesters of study. In 1894, she graduated and became certified to practice medicine in the United Kingdom the following year.
Career:
After completing her dual training as both a doctor and a nurse, Forster settled in England and began practicing medicine in Oxford. She held licenses from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow, the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. In 1900, she was appointed as the medical officer of the Cutler Boulter Dispensary in Oxford.
During her time at Cutler Boulter, Forster developed a keen interest in understanding the causes and effects of ovarian diseases in mentally ill women. To further her research, she performed autopsies on approximately 100 deceased women at the Claybury Asylum pathology laboratory in London. Her findings and studies led to the publication of a research paper on the histology of tubercular human lymphatic glands under the supervision of Dr. Gustav Mann in 1907.
Inspired by Dr. Santiago Ramón y Cajal, an esteemed scientist in the field of neurohistology, Forster spent several months between 1910 and 1911 at his laboratory in Madrid, Spain. Cajal’s laboratory, known as the Cajal Institute since 1920, was a renowned center for neurohistological research. Under his supervision, Forster published her third scientific paper in 1911, written entirely in Spanish. Her time at Cajal’s laboratory and her collaboration with him greatly expanded her understanding of neurohistological techniques.
Forster’s dedication to advancing medical knowledge and her contributions to research made her a respected figure in the medical community. She paved the way for future generations of women in medicine and left a lasting impact on the field.