Fanny Elizabeth Potter – the first woman to qualify for registration with the Pharmaceutical Society, 1869

Description

Fanny Elizabeth Potter (later Deacon) (1837-1930) was the first woman to qualify for registration with the Pharmaceutical Society after the Pharmacy Act of 1868. She appeared on the Society’s register as a Chemist and Druggist in 1870, having qualified on 5th February 1869 by taking the Modified Exam.
For the majority of her career she was based in Fleckney, near Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

This photographic print, taken by Douglas F.P. Winser, 91 Quadrant, Regent Street, London W, is believed to have been taken around 1855-1870.

Fact

The Pharmacy Act of 1868 required all practising pharmacists to register with the Society. Most of the 223 women in the first compulsory Register of 1869 had qualified for inclusion because they had been in business before August 1 1868.
It was not particularly unusual for women to take over businesses established by their fathers or husbands.