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Frances Elizabeth Hoggan (''née'' Morgan; 20 December 1843 – 5 February 1927) was a Welsh doctor and in 1870 became the first woman from the UK to receive a doctorate in
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
from any university in
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. She was a pioneering medical practitioner, researcher and social reformer – and the first female doctor to be registered in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. She and her husband opened the first husband-and-wife medical practice in Britain. She was honoured with Wales' 11th
Purple Plaque The Purple Plaques () scheme in Wales, UK aims to install plaques on buildings to increase recognition of the lives of women who have had a significant and long-lasting impact associated with Wales. The scheme was initiated by several members of ...
in her birth-town of
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
in March 2023.


Early life and education

Frances Hoggan was born in
Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, where her father, Richard Morgan, was a curate. She was brought up and educated at
Cowbridge Cowbridge () is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for elections to ...
in Glamorgan and later at Windsor. During her teens, she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, who was brought up with her mother and passed off as Frances' sister. She went on to study at
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
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. Upon the exclusion of women by the Council of the
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from its professional exams in 1867, Morgan sought her medical education at the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
, whence Nadezhda Suslova, Russia's first woman physician, had received her degree in December 1867. There, Morgan completed the medical course in three years rather than the expected five, and in March 1870, became only the second woman to gain an MD (with a thesis on progressive muscular atrophy) at Zürich University. Afterwards, at a clinic in Vienna she undertook study on operative midwifery and became a pupil of surgeon Gustav Braun. She obtained her medical doctorate from the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
in March 1870, completing the six-year course in three years, becoming the first British woman to obtain a European MD degree.


Career

Following her graduation, Frances did post-graduate work at top medical schools in Vienna, Prague and Paris before returning to Britain. She spent several years as a medical practitioner working with Elizabeth Garrett Anderson at the New Hospital for Women in London. She also helped to found the National Health Society with
Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the Un ...
in 1871. Its purpose was to "promote health amongst all classes of the population." In 1874, she married Dr George Hoggan. She obtained her licence to practice in the UK from The King's and Queen's College of Physicians of Ireland in February 1877. Together with her husband, she opened the first husband-and-wife general medical practice in the UK. They both wrote medical research papers over the next decade, some of which were co-authored. In 1882, she called for a publicly funded women's medical service for female patients in India. This helped pave the way for the Dufferin Fund. In the same year she became medical superintendent at the North London Collegiate School, one of the first rigorously academic secondary schools for girls. She held this role for six years. She wrote a paper, in 1884, called 'The Position of the Mother of the Family', using the latest understanding about conception and reproduction to argue that mothers should have more rights over their children. Frances and her husband George were anti-vivisectionists and opponents of
compulsory vaccination A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by state or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or sc ...
. In an article for the '' Vaccination Inquirer'' in September 1883 they both argued against compulsory vaccination. Frances' husband George became ill in 1885 and the couple moved to the south of France. George died of a cerebral tumour in 1891. Hoggan became a campaigner and social reformer, and toured the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
lecturing. She had a particular interest in racial issues, and was a speaker at the Universal Race Congress in London in 1911.


Death and legacy

Frances died in 1927. Her cremated remains are buried, with her husband's, in
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
cemetery. The
Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and Charitable organization, charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the W ...
awards the ''Frances Hoggan Medal'' to outstanding women connected with Wales in the areas of science, medicine, engineering, technology or mathematics. On 3 March 2023 a plaque was placed at the birthplace in Brecon to celebrate Hoggan, with Wales' 11th purple plaque placed to celebrate remarkable women in Wales. Welsh government's social justice minister, Jane Hutt, said she hoped the plaque would "make sure her name is elevated to the status she deserves".


Selected works

*initiative which ''Education for Girls in Wales'' (1882) *''American Negro Women During Their First Fifty Years of Freedom'' (1913)


See also


Welsh

* Mary Elizabeth Phillips (physician) * Mary Morris (doctor) * List of Welsh medical pioneers


Other

*
Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the Un ...
* Elizabeth Garrett Anderson * Nadezhda Suslova *
Edinburgh Seven The Edinburgh Seven were the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at any British university. They began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869 and, although the Court of Session ruled that they should neve ...


References


Bibliography

* M. A. Elston, "Hoggan, Frances Elizabeth (1843–1927)", ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 4 May 2007
*McIntyre, N. "Britain's first medical marriage: Frances Morgan (1843–1927), George Hoggan (1837–1891) and the mysterious "Elsie"." ''Journal of Medical Biography'', 12:2 (2004), 105–14. Publisher:
Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...
. .


External links


Biography at BBC Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoggan, Frances 1843 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Welsh medical doctors People from Brecon 20th-century Welsh medical doctors 19th-century Welsh women medical doctors 20th-century Welsh women medical doctors Welsh anti-vivisectionists British social reformers Burials in Surrey 19th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers 19th-century British women writers 20th-century British women writers University of Zurich alumni