Agnes Yewande Savage
| Agnes Yewande Savage | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 21 February 1906 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 1964 (aged 58) |
| Nationality | |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Physician |
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Agnes Yewande Savage (21 February 1906 – 1964) was a Nigerian doctor and the first West African woman to train and qualify in orthodox medicine. Savage was also the first West African woman to receive a university degree when she graduated from medical school in 1929 at the age of 23. In 1933, Sierra Leonean political activist and higher education pioneer, Edna Elliot-Horton became the second West African woman university graduate and the first to earn a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts.
Savage was born on 21 February 1906 in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Richard Akinwande Savage Sr, a medical doctor and Maggie S. Bowie, a working-class Scotswoman. Her brother was Richard Gabriel Akinwande Savage, also a doctor. Savage passed exams to the Royal College of Music in 1919 and was given a scholarship to study at George Watson’s Ladies College.
She entered Edinburgh University to study medicine, excelled in her studies, and was awarded the Dorothy Gilfillan Memorial Prize as the best woman graduate in 1929. Savage faced gender and racial institutional barriers in her career. After graduation, she joined the colonial service in the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) as a Junior Medical Officer. Though better qualified than most of her male counterparts, she received fewer benefits.
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