Kate Emily Welton Hogg (1869–1951) was an Australian physician and graduate of the Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women. She studied alongside prominent early female physicians Mary Booth, Agnes Bennett, and

Eleanor Sproull Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal dialect">Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. ...

Early life and education

Born in London in 1869, Hogg was educated in Croydon, Sydney. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1894 and then entered the

Sydney Medical School The University of Sydney School of Medicine, also known as Sydney Medical School (SMS) is the graduate medical school of the University of Sydney. Established in 1856, it is the first medical school in Australia. In 2018, Sydney Medical School j ...

in 1895, but grew frustrated with the discouraging atmosphere fostered by the Dean, Professor Anderson Stuart. Forgoing Sydney, Hogg went on to enroll at the Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women, where she graduated MB ChB in 1900 and MD in 1909.

Career

Hogg worked as a physician in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. At a time when female physicians were uncommon, Hogg frequently encountered resistance and prejudice in the workplace which frustrated her career. In 1901 she was appointed assistant master at the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital, Dublin but resigned in June of that year due to frustration with the behaviour of superior staff toward her and pressure to be ‘agreeable’. By 1904, Hogg was back in Sydney working in private practice, and as an honorary demonstrator in anatomy alongside Mary Booth at the University of Sydney. However, opportunities for women were severely restricted and none of the boards of the metropolitan general public hospitals would accept women for postgraduate training. Hogg's friend and former classmate Agnes Bennett found Wellington, New Zealand a much more accommodating environment. Hogg followed Bennett to Wellington, apparently working as her locum and sharing a house together. Hogg was interested in the relationship between mental health and physical symptoms, focusing particularly on women's mental health and pelvic disorders. Whilst working as a junior medical officer at

Callan Park Hospital for the Insane The Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1878–1914) is a heritage-listed former insane asylum, which was subsequently, for a time, used as a college campus, located in the grounds of Callan Park, an area on the shores of Iron Cove in Lilyfie ...

, New South Wales, she published a paper ''An Introduction to the Relation of the Female Pelvic Organs to Insanity'' in which she determined there to be a limited evidence of a relationship between pelvic disorders and insanity. However, she went on to research

dementia praecox Dementia praecox (meaning a "premature dementia" or "precocious madness") is a disused psychiatric diagnosis that originally designated a chronic, deteriorating psychotic disorder characterized by rapid cognitive disintegration, usually beginnin ...

specifically, submitting her PhD thesis ''Some considerations on the etiology of dementia praecox'' in 1909. Hogg thought that the majority of cases displayed well-marked anatomical defects in the pelvic organs.

Personal life

Hogg married James Campbell Neill in Wellington on 5 July 1913. She appears to have stopped working as a physician after marrying. She was the sister of Dr Stanley Welton Hogg (1881-1954) and cousin of Dr Robert Welton-Hogg (1891-1961). Robert was an elected a member of the

Wellington Hospital Board Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

for the Hutt constituency. He served for six years from 1938 until 1944. Hogg died in Auckland, New Zealand on 18 February 1951; her ashes are interred at Waikumete Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hogg, Kate Welton 1869 births 1951 deaths 19th-century Australian women Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Australian women medical doctors 20th-century Australian medical doctors University of Sydney alumni Australian emigrants to New Zealand British emigrants to colonial Australia Medical doctors from London