Anna Petronella van Heerden

Anna Petronella van Heerden (1887–1975), was the first Afrikaner woman to qualify as a medical doctor. Her thesis, which she obtained a doctorate on in 1923, was the first medical thesis written in Afrikaans. She practiced as a gynecologist, retiring in 1942. She also served in the South African medical corps during World War II.

She campaigned for women's suffrage in the 1920s, and worked as a farmer after retiring from her medical work. She also published two autobiographical texts, Kerssnuitsels (Candle Snuffings) and Die sestiende koppie (the Sixteenth Cup).