Kate Isabel Campbell DBE MD (1899 - 1986)

Born 22 Apr 1899 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Australia)

Died 12 Jul 1986 at age 87 in Camberwell, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Kate Campbell DBE MD is Notable.

Dame Kate Campbell DBE MD Hon. LLD MB BS FRCOG was a noted Australian paediatrician. Her discovery, that blindness in premature babies was caused by high concentrations of oxygen, resulted in the alteration of the treatment of premature babies world-wide and for this she received global recognition.

Kate Campbell DBE MD was born in the Colony of Victoria (1851-1900)

Kate Isabel Campbell was born on 22nd April 1899 in Hawthorn, Victoria (Australia). She was the third of four children of Scottish-born Donald Campbell, a clerk, and New Zealand-born Janet Duncan Mill, a former school teacher. ^[1] Kate attended the Manningtree Road Primary School and while attending she was awarded a Junior Program Government Scholarship to the Methodist Ladies College, Melbourne. Later, in 1917, she was provided a Senior Government Scholarship which enabled her to continue further studies at the University of Melbourne.

After Kate completed her dual medical degrees, Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS) in 1922 and her Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 1924, she was admitted to residency at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. To receive greater experience and exposure in child and maternal health, she soon moved on to the Royal Children's Hospital. Due to gender discrimination in her work place, however, Kate resigned and became the first honorary paediatrician at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, where she filled the position of Resident Medical Officer. Despite sexism and discrimination against females then seeking medical careers, she was named as honorary paediatrician to the Queen Victoria Hospital in 1926, remaining so until 1965.

In 1927, Kate established her own general medical practice in Essendon, working there for a decade. During this time she began a lifelong association with the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association, for which she was a medical officer until 1965. From 1929 to 1965, alongside responsibilities as medical officer, she was appointed the first clinical lecturer for the University of Melbourne in infant welfare, specialising in neonatal paediatrics.

In 1965 until she retired in 1979, Kate filled the position of consultant paediatrician at the Queen Victoria Hospital.

Her research led to the creation of various reports, some of which regarding infection control, neonatal feeding, neonatal jaundice in premature infants, electrolyte and fluid tolerance in newborns and also the effects of trauma in delivery. Through all these investigations and research, she became a specialist in children's diseases. Kate's most distinguished contribution in research was, in 1951, in establishing and proving that excess therapeutic oxygen in humidicribs acquired retrolental fibroplasia – a condition which could lead to blindness in premature babies.

In the New Year Honours 1954 Kate was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). She was elected honorary fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRCOG) in 1961. The University of Melbourne awarded Kate an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) in 1966.

In the New Year Honours 1971, Kate was created Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

Kate retired in 1979. Aged 87 years, she passed away on 12th July 1986 in Camberwell, Victoria. ^[2] She never married.

She was inducted to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #11080/1899
2. ↑ Victoria Death Index #16806/1986

See also

• The Australian Women's Register: Campbell, Kate Isabel; accessed 17 Jan 2024.
• Wikipedia: Kate Campbell; accessed 17 Jan 2024.