She was born in Scotland to Henry Stopes and Charlotte Carmichael Stopes. It is worth noting she was opposed to abortion. Below are references indicating presence of this name in another database or other reference material. She initially saw birth control as an aid to marriage fulfillment and as a means to save women from the physical strain of excessive childbearing. She was an influential figure in the early family planning movement, helping to break down taboos on issues such as contraception. Posthumously, an English Heritage blue plaque was erected in Upper Norwood, where she lived from 1880 to 1892, in her commemoration. In 1921 Sanger founded…. This included attending a conference held in Nazi Germany in 1935. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. “Far too often, marriage puts an end to woman’s intellectual life. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Marie Stopes : A Biography at Amazon.com. She was an influential figure in the early family planning movement, helping to break down taboos on issues such as contraception. People Who Made a Difference in Health Care, Facts about the extraordinary life of Joan of Arc. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership. Buy Marie Stopes, a biography by Ruth E Hall (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. “That girls can reach a marriageable age without some knowledge of the realities of sex would seem incredible: but it is a fact. Stopes opened the UK's first family planning clinic at 61, Marlborough Road, Holloway, North London on 17 March 1921. Hall, ‘Stopes [married name Roe], Marie Charlotte Carmichael’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004) (subscription required: accessed 14 Oct 2020) Ruth Hall, Marie Stopes: A Biography (London, 1977) June Rose, Marie Stopes and the Sexual Revolution (London,1992) Stopes attended University College London where she studied Botany and Geology and gained a first class degree in 1902. Photo: Wikipedia. Marie Stopes is widely lauded today as a feminist hero and women’s rights campaigner. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell. The Medico-legal Journal. She was an influential figure in the early family planning movement, helping to break down taboos on issues such as contraception. Marie Stopes (1880-1958) shook the world. She went on to do postgraduate studies in paleobotany (fossil plants), earning a doctorate from the University of Munich in 1904. Read more. Corrections? She wrote a best-selling sex-manual for women and was a controversial birth control pioneer. It was one of the first books openly to discuss birth control. Her work went a long way to changing attitudes to contraception, and making it more freely available. She argued that access to contraception was the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, particularly among working class people who often couldn’t afford another mouth to feed, but who also had no means to afford sex … If you think this file should be featured on Wikimedia Commons as well, feel free to nominate it . The BBC history page dedicated to Marie Stopes describes her as a: ‘campaigner for women’s rights and a pioneer in the field of family planning’ and says nothing negative about her. Stopes would later assert that her marriage was unconsummated and that she knew little about sex when she first married. Marie Stopes, 1918 ©Stopes was a campaigner for women's rights and a pioneer in the field of family planning. Stopes attended University College London where she studied Botany and Geology and gained a first class […] By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. She was the foremost advocator of contraception and an influential leader of the early family planning movement. MSI 2030. Her Contraception: Its Theory, History and Practice (1923) was, when it first appeared, the most comprehensive treatment of the subject. File:Marie Stopes in her laboratory, 1904.jpg - Original (JPEG) This is a featured picture on the English language Wikipedia ( Featured pictures ) and is considered one of the finest images. The work of Sanger and Stopes reached only a small fraction of the millions of couples who in the 1920s and ’30s lived in a world irrevocably altered by World War I, crushed by economic depression, and striving for the then lowest birth rates in history. In 1922, a Roman Catholic doctor Halliday Sutherland wrote a book Birth Control attacking Stopes for her support of the cervical cap. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. We have over 60 clinics across England, which provide high-quality reproductive health services to over 70,000 people each year. The BBC history page dedicated to Marie Stopes introduces her as a “campaigner for women’s rights and a pioneer in the field of family planning” and says nothing negative about her. The building was the Marie Stopes Mothers’ Clinic in Whitfield Street, central London, which in 1925, Marie Stopes, a non-medical doctor, had opened despite opposition from a male-dominated medical establishment and the Catholic church. // 15th Oct 1880. Stopes obtained a science degree (1902) from University College, London, which she completed in only two years. Marie Carmichael Stopes D.Sc, PhD was a Scottish author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for women’s rights. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Stopes, The Embryo Project Encyclopedia - Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Marie Stopes, Marie Stopes - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Her clinics only provided contraception. The parent body of Marie Stopes Clinics round the world is now called Marie Stopes … Our clinics. She became a leading 20th-century campaigner for women’s rights and birth control. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. 26 (2): 70–71. She was highly controversial and divisive, but her influence on sexual and reproductive health remains strong over 50 years after her death. Marriage can never reach its full stature until women possess as much intellectual freedom and freedom of opportunity within it as do their partners.”. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The Marie Stopes Clinic. After her first degree, she made more studies in Palaeobotany, including a scientific mission to Japan in 1907. Marie Stopes married Humphrey Verdon Roe in 1918. In 1921, she opened the UK’s first family planning clinic in Holloway, London. Although her clinical work, writings, and speeches evoked violent opposition, especially from Roman Catholics, she greatly influenced the Church of England’s gradual relaxation (from 1930) of its stand against birth control. Most of the sources listed are encyclopedic in nature but might be limited to a specific field, such as musicians or film directors. She was the founder of British family planning, and fought many battles in print with those whose opinions differed … “Biography of Marie Stopes“, Oxford, UK – www.biographyonline.net. She specialized in fossil plants and the problems of coal mining. Stopes attended University College London where she studied Botany and Geology and gained a first class degree in 1902. As a young girl, Stopes said she would spend the first twenty years of her life in science, the second twenty years of her life in social projects and the last twenty years of her life writing poetry. Although she lost the case, she gained widespread support and won an appeal in the High Court – though this appeal was overturned. In 1918 Stopes married Humphrey Verdon Roe, cofounder of the A.V. Stopes sued for libel. 288pp. That same year she became founder and president of the Society for Constructive Birth Control, a platform from which she spoke widely about the benefits of married women having healthy, desired babies—essentially promoting the idea of eugenic birth control. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Marie Stopes was a British author and palaeobotanist who is known for her pioneering work in popularizing the importance of birth control and use of contraceptives in England. In 1925 the Mothers' Clinic moved to Central London, where it remains to this day. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. Marie Stopes was a leading advocate of women's rights and birth control. Her failed marriage and its eventual annulment in 1916 played a large role in determining her future career, causing her to turn her attention to the issues of sex, marriage, and childbirth and their meaning in society. Marie Stopes (1880-1958) Marie Carmichael Stopes D.Sc, PhD was a Scottish author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for women’s rights. Marie Stopes at her laboratory in the Victoria University of Manchester. Marie Stopes International, one of the world’s largest abortion providers, is changing its name due to unwanted attention that its founder was a eugenicist and a racist. Marie Charlotte Stopes was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on October 15, 1880. Buy Marie Stopes : A Biography New edition by Hall, Ruth (ISBN: 9780860680925) from Amazon's Book Store. After World War II she promoted birth control in East Asian countries. AUTHORITIES. Married Love or Love in Marriage is a book by British academic Marie Stopes. In the 1930s, she was also involved in the Eugenics movement arguing for the forcible sterilisation of those totally unfit for parenthood. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Marie Stopes : biography 15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958 A few months later, Stopes, who had become enthusiastic about a contraceptive device called the "Gold-pin" which was reportedly successful in America, contacted a young Australian doctor in London, Norman Haire, and asked if he would be interested in running a clinical trial of […] The book begins by stating that 'More than ever to-day are happy homes needed. London: Faber and Faber. Her advocacy of a more liberal approach to sex and family planning, pre-dated the 1960s sexual revolution and liberal attitudes which were later adopted. In the meantime she wrote Married Love and Wise Parenthood (both 1918), which were widely translated. Marie Stopes and the Sexual Revolution. Stopes grew up in a wealthy, educated family; her father was an architect, her mother a scholar of Shakespeare and an advocate for the education of women. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Roe aircraft firm, who also had strong interests in the birth-control movement. Northern Irish clients can access abortion care in our network of over 60 Marie Stopes UK clinics all over England, including Liverpool and Manchester. Marie Stopes International as an organisation lobbies in favour of access to abortion, and provides a variety of sexual and reproductive healthcare services including advice, vasectomies, and abortions in the UK and other countries where it is legal to do so Feb 28, 2012 - Marie Stopes (1880-1958) Marie Carmichael Stopes D.Sc, PhD was a Scottish author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for women’s rights. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Marie Stopes : A Biography at Amazon.com. Marie Stopes was born on October 15, 1880 to Henry Stopes and Charlotte Carmichael Stopes in Edinburgh. Marie Stopes is widely lauded today as a feminist hero and women’s rights campaigner. Published 12 Jan 2012. Marie Stopes biography timelines // 1880 To 1892. • "Dr. Marie Stopes". ,Stopes was educated as a scientist. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. It is my hope that this book may serve the State by adding to their number. Omissions? Her parents were both well-educated with successful careers: her father, Henry Stopes, was an architect, and her mother, Charlotte Carmichael Stopes, was a Shakespeare expert who had been the first female graduate of a Scottish university. Read more. Stopes' newsletter Birth Control News, her book Married Love, and her organisation Marie Stopes International, were hugely important in Britain and throughout the British Empire. She also became very well known for her work in family planning which made her a national figure of some controversy. 1958. doi:10.1177/002581725802600205. Marie Stopes books helped to change some of the old-fashioned Victorian attitudes and ignorance to marriage. As we launch our new vision, we are changing our name from Marie Stopes International to MSI Reproductive Choices, reflecting our fundamental commitment to choice. It also provided tips for sex and contraception. Select Your Cookie Preferences. Marie Stopes, advocate of birth control who, in 1921, founded the United Kingdom’s first instructional clinic for contraception. Marie Stopes, a biography by Ruth E Hall ISBN 13: 9780233968797 ISBN 10: 0233968792 Hardcover; London: Deutsch, 1977; ISBN-13: 978-0233968797 Biographies in her lifetime were written by acquaintances and vetted by her. They had one son born in 1924. Dr. Marie Stopes was an impassioned, strategic British scientist who left academia to focus on the availability of contraceptives for all people, regardless of their class. Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British palaeobotanist, author and campaigner for birth control. Marie Stopes, in full Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes, (born October 15, 1880, Edinburgh, Scotland—died October 2, 1958, near Dorking, Surrey, England), advocate of birth control who, in 1921, founded the United Kingdom’s first instructional clinic for contraception. Although her clinical work, writings, and speeches evoked violent opposition, especially from Roman Catholics, she greatly influenced the Church of England’s gradual Her views were radical for the time and generated great publicity. One highly educated lady whom I know intimately told me that when she was about eighteen she suffered many months of agonizing apprehension that she was about to have a baby, because a man had snatched a kiss from her lips at a dance.”. During the pre-war years, many families were pushed into poverty because they struggled to feed and clothe their children. 1993. MSI Reproductive Choices, named Marie Stopes International until November 2020, is an international non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries around the world. That same year she became an assistant lecturer of botany at the University of Manchester. Marie Stopes was born into a middle-class Victorian family. In 1930, she played a role in forming the National Birth Control Council and became a leading advocate for making contraception more freely available. Their original birth-control clinic—designed to educate women about the few methods of birth control available to them—was founded three years later, in the working-class Holloway district of London. PMID 13622045. However, Stopes also was a staunch supporter of eugenics, and she advocated for eugenic birth control, wherein inferior women of the lower classes would be prevented from having children. Updates? Her stance and willingness to protest at places of worship led her into conflict with the Church of England and the Catholic Church. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Desperate parents of large families often wrote to Stopes, hoping she could help to limit their family size. Lesley A. Last updated 18 September 2019. Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. He helped her in the crusade that she then began. She died in 1958 from breast cancer in her home in Dorking, Surrey. She was later made the first female academic at the University of Manchester. Marie Stopes, who wrote probably the first sex guide in modern times, was a deeply narcissistic individual who thought that the Pope's encyclical Humanae Vitae was aimed at her personally, and wrote to the Pope accordingly. In 1918, she published a book, Married Love, which argued for greater equality between men and women in marriage. 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