Blue plaque review series: Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald (1872-1973)

Mabel Purefoy FitzGerald (1872-1973) was the first centenarian to receive an honorary degree from the University of Oxford. She received an honorary bachelor of the arts 68 years after being the first woman to complete the Honour School of Physiology. Her work from a solo trip through the wild and unruly mining communities high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in 1911 revealed that to compensate for the hypoxia of high altitude, residents had lowered CO₂ and elevated haemoglobin. These data are some of the first to suggest a hypoxia-sensing mechanism. Until recently, her other numerous achievements and astonishing experiences struggling to become a physician at the turn of the 20th century have remained lost to history. FitzGerald's numerous accomplishments are a testament to her passion for medical science and unparalleled courage in the face of innumerable setbacks.