Sir Norman McAlister Gregg, (7 March 1892 – 27 July 1966) was an Australian ophthalmologist, who discovered that rubella suffered by a pregnant woman could cause

birth defect A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities ca ...

s in her child (

congenital rubella syndrome Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) can occur in a developing fetus of a pregnant woman who has contracted rubella, usually in the first trimester. If infection occurs 0–28 days before conception, the infant has a 43% risk of being affected. If t ...

Early life and education

Gregg was born on 7 March 1892 in Burwood, a suburb of Sydney. He was educated at Homebush Grammar School and Sydney Grammar School, and then studied medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...

and first-class honours in 1915.Paul A. L. Lancaster
Gregg, Sir Norman McAlister (1892–1966)
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 14, Melbourne University Press, 1996, pp. 325–327. During his education, Gregg was an active and capable sportsman, playing cricket, tennis, baseball, swimming and ice hockey at university. From 1913 to 1914, he represented

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in cricket three times, and once in tennis. Had it not been for the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Gregg would have qualified for the Australian Davis Cup team.

Military career

After completing his medical degree, Gregg travelled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he was commissioned as a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the Royal Army Medical Corps of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

on 23 March 1915. He served on the Western Front during

attached to the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

's 17th Battalion, and later with the 52nd Field Ambulance. Promoted temporary captain on 23 March 1916, he was an acting major for just over a month in 1919, was wounded in the field, and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for gallantry on 24 September 1918. Military Cross He left the army on 7 March 1920, retaining the rank of captain. The citation for his MC read:

Medical career

Returning to Australia, Gregg was appointed resident medical officer at Sydney's

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School a ...

(RPA). He returned to England to study

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

, gaining a diploma of ophthalmic medicine and surgery after training at

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist NHS eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, which is adjacen ...

and

Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist NHS eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, which is adjacen ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and the Birmingham and Midland Counties Eye Hospital. Gregg returned to Sydney, where he set up a practice in 1923. That same year he was appointed ophthalmic surgeon at RPA, and the same post at the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

from 1925. In 1950 he was made a consultant at the Royal Alexandra, and in 1952 at the RPA.

Congenital rubella syndrome

When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

began, Gregg was a paediatric ophthalmologist, at a time when most doctors had joined the army and he was one of few eye doctors in Sydney. Gregg noticed a high incidence of congenital

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

s in infants arriving at his surgery – two to three times the normal rate that would be expected from hereditary factors. He overheard a conversation between several mothers whose babies had cataracts, in which they mentioned that they had suffered from German measles (rubella) during pregnancy. Investigating the medical records of children with similar conditions, Gregg discovered that out of 78 affected children, 68 had been exposed to rubella ''in utero''. There had been an outbreak of rubella and meningitis in Australian army camps in 1941, which had been transmitted to the wider community when the men returned to their families.Manteuil-Brutlag, Simone
Sir Norman McAllister Gregg
, Stanford University. On 15 October 1941, Gregg delivered a paper, ''Congenital Cataract following German Measles in the Mother'', to the Ophthalmological Society of Australia in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

which published it in its journal, ''Transactions''. Following press coverage of his paper, Gregg was contacted by two mothers who had contracted rubella, and whose children suffered from deafness, and he subsequently issued a further paper detailing ''Further Observations on Congenital Defects in Infants following Maternal Rubella''. While Gregg's findings were met with praise in Australia, internationally his peers were not so convinced. British medical journal ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'' wrote that he had failed to adequately prove his case, and it was not until Professor Oliver Lancaster of the

proved the association between the rubella virus and congenital syndromes in infants was significant, that his research was accepted around the world. Gregg was a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS).

Honours

* In 1951, he was awarded the James Cook Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales, for outstanding contribution to science and human welfare in the Southern Hemisphere. * On 29 August 1952, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the

* On 1 January 1953, he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

for services to medical science in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. He received the accolade from the Governor-General of Australia at

Government House, Canberra Government House, in the suburb of Yarralumla, is the official residence of the governor-general of Australia. It is located in the suburb of Yarralumla, in the City of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The house is set amid of p ...

on 28 January 1953. Knighthood * In 1962, Sir Norman was given the

Australian Father of the Year award The Australian Father of the Year Award is presented annually to "a distinguished father who has demonstrated support, guidance and love to his children or other children through his working role or family life." Awards The award was inaugurated ...

. * A lecture theatre at the

's School of Public Health, and a suite of operating theatres at the

Children's Hospital at Westmead The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

are named after him.125 years of care: Historical Names
,

, 5 May 2005.

References

External links

First-class cricket statistics: Norman Gregg
( Cricinfo) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Norman Macalister 1892 births 1966 deaths Australian military doctors Australian ophthalmologists British Army personnel of World War I Rubella Australian Knights Bachelor New South Wales cricketers People educated at Sydney Grammar School Australian recipients of the Military Cross Royal Army Medical Corps officers Sydney Medical School alumni Australian cricketers Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons