Tabitha Solomon (born 1901) was one of the first women to qualify as a dentist in India, graduating from the Calcutta Dental College and Hospital in 1928. After graduation she started a dental clinic in the Chittarnjan Seva Sadan Hospital and worked at the Dufferin Hospital. A member of the Baghdadi Jewish community, she was closely involved in Jewish community causes.
Tabitha Solomon | |
|---|---|
 Tabitha Solomon, c. 1926.[1] | |
| Born | 15 November 1901 Calcutta |
| Died | 30 July 1976 Calcutta |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Education | Calcutta Dental College and Hospital |
| Occupation | Dentist |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Dentist |
| Institutions | |
Early life and education
editTabitha Solomon was born in 1901[2] into the Baghdadi Jewish expatriate community in British India.[3] She was one of the first women to qualify as a dentist in India,[4][5] graduating from the Calcutta Dental College and Hospital (later the Dr R. Ahmed Dental College) with her Licentiate in Dental Science on 30 March 1928,[6][7] five years after the only known earlier female candidate Fatima Ali Jinnah, who qualified in 1923 from the same College,[4] and sixteen years before Vimla Sood, who qualified in dentistry from De'Montmorency College of Dentistry in Lahore in 1944.[4]
Career
editSolomon worked with Rafiuddin Ahmed on the Calcutta Dental Journal and started a dental clinic in the Chittarnjan Seva Sadan Hospital. She worked at the Dufferin Hospital in an honorary capacity.[8]
She was closely involved in Jewish causes, serving on the Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO) and welfare committees, the Calcutta Jewish Association and the multicultural Calcutta Women's Committee.[8][9]
Personal life
editTabitha Solomon had two sons and a daughter, Eric, Charles and Hebe. Avi is Charles' older son born in 1956.[10]
References
edit- ^ Tabitha. Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Famous People". aim2excel. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ The Too Few People. The Jew Community of Kolkata. Sudipto Sengupta, Probashi, 22 January 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Fatima, Zareen (3 May 2020). "Vimla Sood, Tabitha Solomon, Fatima Ali Jinnah......Who among them are the first female dentists of India?". HeritageTimes. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Weil, Shalva. (Ed.) (2019). The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-429-53387-7.
- ^ Tabitha Solomon's Dental Certification, Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ Singh, Priya et al. (Eds.) (2014). Beyond Strategies: Cultural Dynamics in Asian Connections. New Delhi: KW Publishers. ISBN 978-93-83649-04-4.
- ^ a b Tabitha Solomon. Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- ^ "Tabitha Solomon: Dentist" in Gayathri Ponvannan (2019). Unstoppable: 75 Stories of Trailblazing Indian Women. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-88322-01-0.
- ^ Tabitha and Avi. Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
External links
edit- Remembering Tabitha Solomon, the first Indian woman dentist. White Coat Nerd.