• Entry type: Person
  • Entry ID: PR00775

Bignell, Margaret Annie

(1853 – 1940)
  • Born 23 January, 1853, New Norfolk Tasmania Australia
  • Died 30 October, 1940, East Brunswick Victoria Australia
  • Occupation Pharmacist

Summary

Margaret Annie Bignell was the seventh daughter of William and Elizabeth Blyth, of Hobart. She became Victoria’s first registered female pharmacist, and one of the first women pharmacists to conduct her own business in the state, carrying on her husband’s pharmacy in Lygon Street, Carlton, after his death in 1897. She was known for apprenticing women, and was an activist for the recognition of women pharmacists. Two of her daughters entered the profession. She was a subscribing member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria, and a founding member of the Women Pharmacists’ Association, formed in 1905 to promote the interests of women pharmacists.

Published resources

  • Resource
  • Book
    • Victorian College of Pharmacy: 125 Years of History,1881-2006, Bomford, Janette, 2006

Archival resources

  • W L Crowther Library
    • Anne [i.e. Ann] Blyth - Mrs Bignell [Photograph]
  • Public Record Office Victoria, Victorian Archives Centre
    • Pharmacy Board of Victoria
  • State Library of Victoria
    • Records, [manuscript].