Brass plaque, 'Professor George Britton Halford' (1824-1910)
Date
Circa 1870
Description
Small brass plaque with two holes at each end, engraved with the words "PROFESSOR GEORGE BRITTON HALFORD". Possibly a name plate used for the door of Professor Halford's office at the Melbourne Medical School. Professor Halford (1824-1910) was the School's first professor of anatomy, pathology and physiology.
It was 1 May 1863 when George Britton Halford (1824–1910) started as the first professor of anatomy, physiology and pathology, at the Medical School. There were three students, Patrick Moloney (1843-1904), Alexander Mackie(1839-1892) and William Carey Rees (1843–1879), and classes were held in a shed erected at the back of Professor Halford’s private rooms.
In 1876 the faculty of medicine was established and took over administration of courses from the Medical School Committee. Halford was elected Dean and held office until 1886 and again in 1890-96.
Halford recommended as early as 1871, while president of the professorial board, that women who passed the relevant examinations sign the matriculation book should be admitted to the University of Melbourne. However, Vice-Chancellor A.C. Brownless’s (1817–1897) view of university education did not extend to the inclusion of women; he actively opposed the motion to admit women to the University of Melbourne in 1879, and to admit women to medicine in 1887.
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