Today’s celebrations are in honour of

Dr Louise Pearce, 5th March 1885– 9th August 1959.

Louise was an American research scientist who found a cure for sleeping sickness, doing tests on her own in the field in Zaire (Belgian Congo at the time) during a major outbreak in 1920, for which she was awarded medals and prizes by the Belgians. She also did much research into heredity in syphilis and cancer.

Louise shared her home with Sara Josephine Baker (another doctor) and Ida A R Wylie (novelist and screenwriter), both of whom we will hear more of as the year progresses…