First female pharmacist Fanny Deacon honoured with plaque

Fanny Deacon saw a syllabus of the Pharmaceutical Society's examinations and decided she could pass

A plaque is due to be unveiled to celebrate the first woman in Britain to qualify to register as a pharmacist.

Fanny Deacon was born in 1830 and her father worked as a chemist in nearby Kibworth, Leicestershire.

Leicestershire County Council is to place a green plaque in Wolsey Lane, Fleckney, where she lived and ran her own business.

The chairman of the authority described her as "a true pioneer and trailblazer".

'Honoured'

The council said Ms Deacon had seen a syllabus of the Pharmaceutical Society's examinations in her father's dispensary, when she was a young woman, and decided she could pass the exam.

She applied to sit the exam which she took at its headquarters in London - and duly passed.

Afterwards she registered as a chemist and druggist with the Pharmaceutical Society in 1869, but as a woman she was not allowed to become a member until 1879.

She worked alongside her father, later opening her own pharmacy in Fleckney.

When she died in 1930, at the age of 92, she was the oldest registered chemist in England.

The council said a plaque in her honour was being unveiled on the side of the house where she lived and worked from 1875 until her death.

Council chairman Dr Kevin Feltham said: "Fanny Deacon was a true pioneer and trailblazer.

"By qualifying as a pharmacist at a time when the profession was dominated by men, 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."