Florence McKeown

Florence McKeown
Born
Elizabeth Florence McKeown

(1918-06-01)1 June 1918
Belfast, United Kingdom
Died9 June 2008(2008-06-09) (aged 90)
OccupationPathologist
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplinePathology
Sub-disciplineRheumatic cardiovascular disease
Institutions

Elizabeth Florence McKeown (1 June 1918 – 9 June 2008) was a Northern Irish pathologist who was Professor of Morbid Anatomy at Queen's University Belfast.

Biography

Elizabeth Florence McKeown was born on 1 June 1918 in Belfast; her parents were Mary (née Lyons) and Robert Lemon McKeown, the latter of whom a missionary.[1] After spending her secondary education at Victoria College, Belfast, she received her MB BCh BAO degree at Queen's University Belfast in 1942.[1][2]

After returning to Queen's as an assistant in pathology, she was promoted to lecturer in 1947, before receiving a further promotion to reader in 1954.[1] Eventually, in 1967 she was granted a personal appointment as Professor of Morbid Anatomy, making her the university's "first woman to be appointed to a permanent academic position in medicine".[1][3] In 1952, she became a consultant pathologist at Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, where she had spent her residency, before eventually moving to the Belfast City Hospital.[1] Richard Froggatt noted that "she was one of only seven permanent woman appointments in the entire 1940s".[1]

In 1965, McKeown published Pathology of the Aged, a study on the autopsies of 1,500 patients over seventy years of age.[4] Pathologist Roy Cameron described McKeown as a "noted contributor" to rheumatic cardiovascular disease.[5] McKeown joined The Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology editorial board in 1967.[1] She was also part of the British Cardiovascular Society and the Pathological Society.[1]

She was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in 1963 and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1974.[2]

McKeown died on 9 June 2008, eight days after his 90th birthday.[1] She remained unmarried throughout her life.[1] She is the aunt of art historian Simon McKeown.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Froggatt, Richard. "Florence McKeown (1918 - 2008)". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Elizabeth Florence McKeown". RCP Museum. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  3. ^ "University News" (PDF). Nature. 214: 7. 1 April 1967. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ^ Reviews of Pathology of the Aged:
  5. ^ Cameron, Roy (9 April 1966). "Disorders of Old Age". Br Med J. 1 (5492): 909–909. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.5492.909. ISSN 0007-1447.