Countess Vilma Hugonnai de Szentgyörgy (30 September 1847 in Nagytétény, Hungary (today part of Budapest) – 25 March 1922 in Budapest) was the first Hungarian woman medical doctor.[1][2]
Vilma Hugonnai | |
|---|---|
 Hugonnai, c. 1890 | |
| Born | Vilma Hugonnai de Szentgyörgy 30 September 1847 Nagytétény, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 25 March 1922 (aged 74) |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Occupation | Medical doctor |
Life
editCountess Vilma Hugonnai was the fifth child of Count Kálmán Hugonnai and Riza Pánczély. She studied Medicine in Zürich and received her degree in 1879.[3] When Vilma returned to Hungary she could not begin her career as a physician as the Hungarian administration refused to recognize her qualifications because of her gender. She worked as a midwife until 1897, when the Hungarian authorities accepted her degree and she could start her own medical practice.[3] The first woman to qualify in Hungary was Sarolta Steinberger in 1900.[4] Neither of them was allowed to practice without a male doctor's supervision until 1913.[3]
Honors
editAsteroid 287693 Hugonnaivilma, discovered by Hungarian astronomers Krisztián Sárneczky and Brigitta Sipőcz at Piszkéstető Station in 2003, was named in her memory.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 29 August 2015 (M.P.C. 95312).[5]
References
edit- ^ Iván Völgyes, Nancy Völgyes, The liberated female: life, work, and sex in socialist Hungary, Westview Press, 1977, p. 9
- ^ a b "287693 Hugonnaivilma (2003 QD31)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Jennifer S. Uglow, Maggy Hendry, The Northeastern Dictionary of Women's Biography, UPNE, 1999, p. 268
- ^ Steinberger Sarolta (1875-1966) is a doctor, a feminist, Mamika, 30 May 2015, Nokert.hu, Retrieved 21 April 2017
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 September 2019.