Purple plaque for first Brit woman to get medical degree

The purple plaque was unveiled on High Street, Brecon, on Friday

A pioneering doctor, campaigner and social reformer has been honoured with Wales' 11th purple plaque.

The sign was unveiled on Friday on High Street, Brecon, at the birthplace of Dr Frances Hoggan.

Dr Hoggan was the first British woman to gain a medical degree in Europe and the first female member of the British College of Physicians.

She has been described as a "remarkable" woman who "inspires young women today to push boundaries".

The Purple Plaques campaign was created to improve the recognition of "remarkable women in Wales".

Dr Hoggan did her degree in Switzerland because women were not allowed to study medical degrees in Britain.

She graduated in March 1870, three months ahead of Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.

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Dr Hoggan also campaigned for other women to be allowed to work as doctors in the UK and India and fought to establish secondary schools for girls in Wales.

Who was Dr Frances Hoggan?

• Born in 1843 at 19 High Street, Brecon

• Her father was a curate at what is now Brecon Cathedral, before becoming vicar of Aberavon. He died while Frances was still a child in 1851

• She continued to campaign through much of her life and died in 1927

The purple plaque for Frances Hoggan is the eleventh to be unveiled in Wales

The plaque was unveiled by the Welsh government's social justice minister, Jane Hutt, who said she hoped it would "make sure her name is elevated to the status she deserves".

Elizabeth Jeffreys, who founded the Brecon Story community history project and helped organise the unveiling, said: "The life of Frances Hoggan is truly inspiring and something of which everyone in Brecon can be really proud."