In the footsteps of Maude Abbott In the footsteps of Maude Abbott Musée régional d'Argenteuil
The Abbotts of St. Andrews: a family legacy
The Abbotts arrive in St. Andrews
Maude's early childhood
The education of young girls
Maude, her village and her best friend
A benevolent grandmother
Maude at McGill
Maude Abbott, one of Canada's first female physicians
Maude in Europe
Maude returns to Montreal
McGill at last
A woman in a male profession
Early medical research
A prolific author
Achievements and legacy
A history of her community
Maude and her Museum
Maude and her sister: a life of resilience
Maude, her death and commemorations
Credits and acknowledgments
In 1898, Maude was appointed assistant curator at the McGill Pathology Museum. Her dream of working at McGill — her "beloved McGill," as she would call it throughout her life — became a reality. She took over the position of curator in 1901 and developed a classification system for medical specimens. Maude was extremely passionate about this work and the Pathology Museum, in the words of a McGill professor at the time, "needed a lover". "She evidently has a genius for this sort of thing," commented her colleagues at McGill. Diligent and meticulous, Maude organized and classified the museum's collection of specimens, some of which dated back to 1823.
Classification System for Congenital Heart Disease, July 1932
Maude visited the United States to study medical museums. In Baltimore she met Dr. William Osler. This encounter with the man who would become her mentor and supporter was one of the most stimulating of her young career. During a dinner with a group of other young doctors, Osler said to Maude, "I wonder now, if you realize what a splendid opportunity you have in that McGill Museum."
Extract, Maude Abbott's descriptive classification system for medical specimens, 1925
Dr. Osler's words changed Maude Abbott's life, as she would observe years later in her autobiography. "And so he quietly dropped the seed that dominated all my future work for many years."
Doctor William Osler by F. Vernon
Cover, Classified and annoted bibliography of Sir William Osler, by Maude Abbott, 1939
Classified and annoted bibliography of Sir William Osler, by Maude Abbott, 1939
Maude returns to Montreal A woman in a male profession