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CA-K211History

Dr. Irma LeVasseur, pioneer of paediatrics

Irma LeVasseur around 1900 (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec).
Irma LeVasseur around 1900 (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec). Irma LeVasseur · Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec P655,S2,SS6,D8 · Photo source · Photo licence: Public domain. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
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Because francophone universities were closed to women, Irma LeVasseur (1877–1964) studied medicine in the United States and in 1903 became the first female physician licensed to practise in Quebec. A pioneer of paediatrics in Canada, she initiated Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montréal and the Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus and Centre Cardinal-Villeneuve in Québec City.

Scope & context

Her medical career and the institutions she helped found, not their later histories.

Sources behind this record

1
Dr. Irma LeVasseur (1877-1964) National Historic Person ↗

Parks Canada

Historical importance; plaque text