Margaret Georgina Todd, known also by her literary pseudonym Graham Travers, was a pioneering Scottish medical doctor and author. Born in 1859, she became one of the first students at the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, successfully completing her medical education and obtaining her MD in Brussels in 1894. Alongside her medical career, Todd established herself as a novelist, publishing her first book, Mona Maclean, Medical Student, in 1892 under her male pen name.
Todd's literary work often drew upon her experiences in the medical field, exploring themes of women's education, professional ambition, and social expectations. Her debut novel was well-received, and she followed it with several other publications, including Fellow Travellers and Windyhaugh. Her writing career ran parallel to her medical work, reflecting the challenges and triumphs of early female doctors in the late Victorian era.
In addition to her literary and medical contributions, Todd is remembered for a significant contribution to physical science. In 1913, during a social gathering, she suggested the word 'isotope' to the chemist Frederick Soddy to describe atoms that occupy the same place in the periodic table. Soddy adopted the term, which later became standard scientific nomenclature. Todd passed away in 1918, leaving behind a unique legacy that bridged the worlds of medicine, literature, and chemistry.
