Charlotte Whitehead was born in England in 1843, and moved to Montreal, Canada at the age five with her family. While1her ill elder sister throughout the years, Charlotte discovered she had a(an)2in medicine. At 18 she married and3a family. Several years later, Charlotte said she wanted to be a4Her husband supported her decision.5, Canadian medical schools did not6women students at the time. Therefore, Charlotte went to the United States to study7at the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia. It took her five years to8her medical degree. Upon graduation, Charlotte9to Montreal and set up a private10 Three years later, she moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and there she was once again a11doctor. Many of her patients were from the nearby timber and railway camps. Charlotte12herself operating on damaged limbs and setting13bones, in addition to delivering all the babies in the area.

    But Charlotte had been practicing without a license. She had14a doctor's license in both Montreal and Winnipeg, but was15. The Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons, an all-male board, wanted her to16her studies at a Canadian medical college! Charlotte refused to17her patients to spend time studying what she already knew. So in 1887, she appeared to the Manitoba Legislature to18a license to her but they, too, refused. Charlotte19to practice without a license until 1912. She died four years later at the age of 73.

    In 1993, 77 years after her20, a medical license was issued to Charlotte. This decision was made by the Manitoba Legislature to honor “this courageous and pioneering woman.”