Green plaque for Leicestershire's Fanny Deacon - the first British woman to qualify as a pharmacist

The first woman in Britain to qualify to register as a pharmacist, will be honoured with a special Green Plaque in the Leicestershire village where she lived and worked.

Fanny Deacon blazed a trail in the 19th century as the first woman to take up the scientific baton in pharmacy.

Her dedication helped to break barriers facing women in medicine and science, paving the way for other women in the medical and scientific field.                                                 

How did she make history ?

• Fanny was born in 1837 and her father worked as a chemist in nearby Kibworth.

• She had spotted her father's syllabus of the Pharmaceutical Society's examinations, and decided she could pass it.

• Fanny then registered as a chemist in 1869, but as a woman she wasn't allowed to become a member of the society until 1879.

• She died in 1930 at the age of 92 and was the oldest registered chemist in England.

Leicestershire County Council will place the plaque outside her former home on Wolsey Lane in Fleckney, where she lived and ran her own business.

The Green Plaque will be unveiled on Thursday 16th June, on the side of the house where she lived and worked from 1875, until her death.

She continued to work and provide a vital service to her community right up until her death at the age of 92.

Councillor Dr Kevin Feltham, Chairman of Leicestershire County Council said:

'Fanny Deacon was a true pioneer and trailblazer.

'By qualifying as a pharmacist at a time when the profession was dominated by men and female chemists were few and far between, she helped to break down the traditional barriers and pave the way for other women in the medical and scientific field.

'She also continued to work and provide a vital service to her community right up until her death at the age of 92.

I am very proud and honoured to be asked to unveil a Green Plaque in tribute to her'.