Mary Elizabeth Hawkins, née Chambers (1875–1950) was a Canadian charity worker, founder of Canada's first birth control clinic. A widow in Hamilton, Ontario, Hawkins founded the Hamilton Birth Control League in 1931, which soon established a birth control clinic in the city.[1]

Life

Mary Elizabeth Chambers was born in New York City on July 31, 1875, the daughter of Frank Ross Chambers and Mary Elizabeth Pease. She graduated from Vassar College in 1897 and in the following year married William Clark Hawkins, an engineer. The pair moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1901.[2]

Hawkins became an active charity worker in Hamilton. During World War I she served as administrator for the Canadian Field Comforts Commission. She helped found the Family Service Bureau in 1923, the Community Chest in 1927, and the Women's Civic Club. She was active in the Red Cross, and also served as president of an Infant's Home.[2]

Hawkins opened the Hamilton birth control clinic on March 3, 1932. After the first doctor hired as medical director resigned after three weeks, she persuaded Elizabeth Bagshaw to take up the post of medical director.[3]

Hawkins served as the clinic's president until her death, on October 9, 1950.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Dianne Dodd (1983). "The Canadian Birth Control Movement on Trial, 1936-1937". Histoire Sociale/Social History. 16 (32): 411–29.
  2. 1 2 3 Anne Commire; Deborah Klezmer, eds. (2006). "Hawkins, Mary (1875–1950)". Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Retrieved 1 March 2023 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  3. ↑ Stacey Gibson. "Doing the devil's work: How U of T's Elizabeth Bagshaw became a pioneer in women's health". U of T News. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
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