CAMPBELL, Dame KATE ISABEL (1899-1986), paediatrician, was born on 22 April 1899
at Hawthorn, Melbourne, third of four children of Scottish-born Donald Campbell,
clerk, and his New Zealand-born wife Janet Duncan, née Mill, a former
schoolteacher. The family had limited means, and the first two sons left school
early despite their parents’ reverence for education. Kate shone at Manningtree
Road primary school and won a junior government scholarship that enabled her to
attend the nearby Methodist Ladies’ College. In 1917, supported by a senior
government scholarship, she proceeded to the University of Melbourne (MB, BS,
1922; MD, 1924) and graduated from its medical school with (Sir) Frank Macfarlane
Burnet , (Dame) Jean Macnamara, Lucy Bryce, Rupert Willis and George Simpson.
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Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
In 1951 Dr Kate Campbell, a specialist in children's diseases, was the first person to prove the link between retrolental fibroplasia (a blindness in premature babies) and oxygen levels in humidicribs. She was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (Dames Commander) on 1 January 1971 for services to the welfare of Australian children. Along with Norman Gregg she was co-winner of the first Encyclopaedia Britannica award for medicine in 1964. Dr Campbell had previously been recognised for her services to medical science when appointed to the Order of the British Empire - Commander (Civil) on 1 January 1954.
The daughter of Donald and Janet (née Duncan) Campbell, Kate Campbell was awarded scholarships to attend both the Methodist Ladies College and the University of Melbourne, where she obtained her Bachelor of Medicine (MB), Bachelor of Surgery (BS) in 1922 and Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 1924. Dr Campbell became resident medical officer at the Melbourne Children's and later the Royal Women's Hospitals. In 1927 she established a general medical practice and ten years later became a consultant peadiatrician.
Dr Campbell was appointed medical officer to the Victorian Baby Health Centre's association, a position she held for over 40 years. She was also honorary paediatrician at the Queen Victoria Hospital (Melbourne) (1926-1965), consultant from 1965 and honorary paediatrician at the Royal Women's Hospital (Melbourne) from 1965. From 1929-1965 Dr Campbell lectured in neonatal paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. Together with Vera Scantlebury Brown and A Elizabeth Wilmot she wrote the Department of Health's Guide to the Care of the Young Child. In 1951, she wrote a paper on the cause of blindness in premature babies, for which she received worldwide recognition. A member of the Lyceum Club, Kate Campbell was also awarded an honorary LLD (Melbourne) in 1966.
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Australian Women's Register
Kate Campbell discovered that blindness in premature babies was caused by an overdose of oxygen, resulting in the adjustment of the treatment of premature babies world-wide.
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1922
Education - Bachelor of Surgery (BS) completed at the University of Melbourne
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1924
Education - Doctor of Medicine (MD) received from the University of Melbourne
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1924? - 1927
Career position - Resident Medical Officer at the Melbourne Children's and Women's Hospitals
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1926 - 1965
Career position - Honorary Paediatrician at the Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne
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1927? - 1937
Career position - General medical practice
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1929 - 1965
Career position - Lecturer in Neo-Natal Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne
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1949 - 1965
Career position - Honorary Paediatrician at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne
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1954
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
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1965 - 1986?
Career position - Consultant Paediatrician at the Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne
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1966
Education - Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) received from the University of Melbourne
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1971
Career position - Associate of the Department of Paediatrics at Monash University
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1971
Award - Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
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1979
Career position - Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne
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Encyclopedia of Australian Science