Jennie Smillie Robertson

Who was Jennie Smillie Robertson?

Jennie Robertson was a Canadian physician and the first female surgeon in Canada.

Born as Jane Smillie in Hensall, Ontario, she was the fourth child of Benjamin Smillie and his wife, Jane Smillie. The family farm was in the Huron Tract on lot 10, concession 1, in the township of Tuckersmith, one mile north of what is now Hensall, Ontario. She initially became a teacher. She started saving so that she could attend Kingston’s Ontario Medical College for Women.

She graduated in 1909 but no hospital in Toronto would take her for her residency so she had to attend Philadelphia's Women's Medical College. In 1911, she returned to Canada and was the first woman in Canada to perform surgery. She was also the first woman to do major gynecological surgery in Canada.