Jabez Hogg
Jabez Hogg (4 April 1817 – 23 April 1899) was an English ophthalmic surgeon and early photographer. A 1843 daguerreotype of him taking someone's photo is the earliest known photo of a photographer at work.
Jabez Hogg

https: Gallery: https: Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-30) · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Jabez Hogg
- Born
- 4 April 1817
- Died
- 22 April 1899
- Occupation
- Surgeon and photographer
- Education
- Rochester Grammar School
- Honours
- Fellow of the Linnean Society of London
- Languages
- English
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Jabez Hogg (4 April 1817 – 23 April 1899) was an English ophthalmic surgeon and early photographer. A 1843 daguerreotype of him taking someone's photo is the earliest known photo of a photographer at work.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q18529246 · wikipedia · Jabez Hogg
In this article
Biography
Biography
Jabez Hogg studied at Rochester Grammar School. The recorded working language is English. Employment is recorded with Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital. Work by Jabez Hogg is recorded in the collections of Australian National Maritime Museum and J. Paul Getty Museum. Distinctions recorded are Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jabez Hogg • Born — 4 April 1817 • Died — 22 April 1899 • Occupation — Surgeon and photographer
Biography
Biography
Hogg was the youngest son of James Hogg and Martha, his wife, was born at Chatham, where his father was employed in the royal dockyard, on 4 April 1817. He was educated at Rochester grammar school, and in 1832 was apprenticed for five years to a medical practitioner. In 1843 he published a 'Manual of Photography,' which brought him to the notice of the proprietors of the 'Illustrated London News.' He joined the staff of this periodical, and from 1850 to 1866 he acted as editor of a series of illustrated educational works published by Mr. Herbert Ingram. In 1846 he was sub-editor of the 'Illuminated Magazine,' to which Hablot K. Browne and John Leech both contributed, and he edited the 'Illustrated London Almanack' for fifty-one years. Hogg entered as a student at the Hunterian School of Medicine and at Charing Cross Hospital in 1845, though he was not admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England until 1850. By the advice of George James Guthrie, he devoted himself more particularly to the study of diseases of the eye, and he soon became proficient in the use of the ophthalmoscope, then newly introduced. On 1 February 1855, he was appointed at the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital as personal assistant to Guthrie, the founder of the hospital, and here he was elected to the office of surgeon on 2 February 1871, a position he resigned under an age limit on 7 June 1877. He was also an ophthalmic surgeon at the Hospital for Women and Children in the Waterloo Bridge Road and to the masonic charities. He was a vice-president of the Medical Society of London in 1851–2, and was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1866. He served as honorary secretary of the Royal Microscopical Society from 1867 to 1872, and he was first president of the Medical Microscopical Society. He was a prominent freemason, both in the craft and arch degrees. He died on 23 April 1899 and is buried in Kensal Green cemetery. He married, in 1841, Mary Ann, a daughter of Captain Davis of the Indian navy, and in 1859 the youngest daughter of Captain James Read. Hogg's works were: • 'The Domestic Medical and Surgical Guide,... to which is appended Advice on the Preservation of Health at Sea,' London, 1803, 8vo; 5th edit. 1860. • 'Elements of Experimental and Natural Philosophy,' London, 1853, 8vo; new edit. 1861; also issued in Bonn's 'Scientific Library.' • 'The Microscope, its History, Construction, and Applications,' London, 1854, 8vo; 10th edit. 1898. • 'A Practical Manual of Photography,' 5th edit. London, 18~>6, 12mo. • 'The Ophthalmoscope, its Mode of Application explained,' London, 1858; 2nd edit. 1858. • 'A Manual of Ophthalmoscopic Surgery,' 3rd edit. London, 1863, 8vo. • 'Cataract and its Treatment, Medical and Surgical,' London, 1869, 8vo. • 'Skin Diseases,' London, 1873, 8vo; 2nd edit., under the title 'A Parasitic or Germ Theory of Disease,' London, 1873, 8vo. • 'Impairment and Loss of Vision from Spinal Concussion,' London, 1876, 8vo. • 'The Cure of Cataract and other Eye Affections,' London, 8vo; 1878, 12mo; 3rd edit. London, 1882, 8vo. He also edited the 'Journal of British Ophthalmology,' 1864, 8vo.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
His recorded language was English. He married Mary Ann Davis and Jessie Terraneau. 4 children are recorded: George Albert Beaty Hogg, Mary Jessie Mason Hogg, James Walter Scott Hogg and Ellen Elizabeth Davies Hogg.
Identity
Identity
Jabez Hogg is recorded as having received Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1817
Jabez Hogg born at Chatham.
1899
Jabez Hogg died.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q18529246: Jabez Hogg
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Jabez Hogg”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Literature
Literature
Hogg, Jabez (1817–1899), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018
Jabez Hogg, ‘Introduction’, in The Microscope, Victorian Material Culture, 2022
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q18529246: Jabez HoggWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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