Tabitha Solomon
Tabitha Solomon, c. 1926.[1]
Born15 November 1901
Calcutta
Died30 July 1976
Calcutta
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipIndian
EducationCalcutta Dental College and Hospital
OccupationDentist
Medical career
ProfessionDentist
Institutions

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.

Early life and education

Tabitha 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

Solomon 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

Tabitha Solomon had two sons and a daughter, Eric, Charles and Hebe. Avi is Charles' older son born in 1956.[10]

References

  1. ^ Tabitha. Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Famous People". aim2excel. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. ^ The Too Few People. The Jew Community of Kolkata. Sudipto Sengupta, Probashi, 22 January 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Fatima, Zareen. "Vimla Sood, Tabitha Solomon, Fatima Ali Jinnah......Who among them are the first female dentists of India?". HeritageTimes. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Tabitha Solomon's Dental Certification, Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. ^ Singh, Priya et al. (Eds.) (2014). Beyond Strategies: Cultural Dynamics in Asian Connections. New Delhi: KW Publishers. ISBN 978-93-83649-04-4.
  8. ^ a b Tabitha Solomon. Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Tabitha Solomon: Dentist" in Gayathri Ponvannan (2019). Unstoppable: 75 Stories of Trailblazing Indian Women. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-88322-01-0.
  10. ^ Tabitha and Avi. Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories of the Jewish community in Calcutta. Retrieved 4 June 2020.

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