Louisa Stevenson (15 July 1835 – 13 May 1908) was a Scottish campaigner for women's university education, women's suffrage and effective, well-organised nursing. Family Stevenson was born at Glasgow, the daughter of Jane Stewart Shannan, daughter of Alexander Shannan, a merchant of Greenock and James Stevenson (1786–1866), a merchant of Glasgow. Louisa was one of a large family including her fellow-campaigner and sister Flora, the architect John James Stevenson, and MP James Cochran Stevenson. The family moved to Jarrow in 1844 when James Stevenson became partner in a chemical works. After he retired in 1854 the family moved to Edinburgh shortly before Mrs Stevenson died, and in 1859 they settled in a house in Randolph Crescent, where they spent the rest of their lives. Louisa, Flora, Elisa Stevenson (1829–1904), an early suffragist, and founding member of the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage, which Louisa and Flora also joined, but sister Jane Stevenson (1828–1904), although a strong influence within the family but did not participate in her sisters' activities beyond the home and Eliza was said to be of delicate health. After their father died leaving them comfortably off the Misses Stevenson were able to contribute financially to various causes. Education and nursing Louisa Stevenson was a member and honorary secretary of the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association (which later became the Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women or EAUEW) and in 1868 she and Flora attended the first course of lectures for women given by Professor David Masson. This was the time when Sophia Jex-Blake was starting her campaign to open up medical education to women and Stevenson was honorary treasurer of a committee formed to support Jex-Blake and help with her legal costs. She and Flora paid for their niece Alice Stewart Ker to study medicine in Bern for a year. Alice was to become the 13th female British doctor. Stevenson's role in the EAUEW led to her giving evidence to a Commission on University Education, so contributing to the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 which meant that Scottish universities were open to women students from 1892. This led to fund-raising for a women's hall of residence at the University of Edinburgh, the Masson Hall, which opened in 1897 with Louisa Stevenson as honorary secretary. She also contributed to education by co-founding the Edinburgh School of Cookery at Atholl Crescent, with Christian Edington Guthrie Wright. The school under