Cust, Aleen (1868–1937)

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Cust, Aleen (1868–1937)

Irish veterinary surgeon. Born 1868 near Tipperary, Ireland; died Jan 29, 1937; dau. of Sir Leopold Cust (land agent and heir to Sir Edward Cust) and Charlotte Bridgeman Cust (dau. of a vice admiral).

The 1st woman to be admitted to the British Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), used inheritance to study veterinary surgery under name A.I. Custance; enrolled at New Veterinary College (1896), the only female student, and earned a Gold Medal for zoology; applied to take 1st professional exam (April 1897) but was rejected by examination committee due to gender; worked as assistant to William Byrne (Roscommon, Ireland) and took over practice after his death (1910); traveled to Abbeville, France (1915), to help veterinary surgeons in Remount Hospital for horses; after passage of Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act (Dec 23, 1919), finally granted RCVS diploma (1924); endowed RCVS for the Aleen Cust Research Scholarship.

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