Priscilla Kincaid-Smith

Priscilla Kincaid-Smith (1926–2015) was a towering figure in Australian and international medicine

Priscilla Sheath Kincaid-Smith was born and raised in South Africa. At school, she was more interested in sport than study and proved to be an outstanding athlete. She was national 100 yards freestyle swimming champion and toured Europe with the South African women’s national hockey team. Only World War II prevented her from being an Olympian. At the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Priscilla discovered a lifelong love of medicine and medical science. Being a brilliant student and athlete, she tried for a Rhodes Scholarship, only to be told that as a woman she was not eligible.