Margaret Pyke

Margaret Pyke

Margaret Amy Pyke (1893–1966) was a British family planning activist and pioneer. A founding member of the British National Birth Control Committee (NBCC), later known as the Family Planning Association (FPA), she succeeded Lady Gertrude Denman as chairman of that organization in 1954. She was also a member of the British Eugenics Society. Among other publications and articles, she wrote "Crypto Eugenics in The Empire" and "Family Planning: An Assessment" (extracted from The Eugenics Review, Vol 55 No 2, July 1963, Publication Date: 1963).

Family life

Born Margaret Amy Chubb in 1893, she married Geoffrey Pyke in late 1918. They had one son, David Pyke, who graduated from medical school in the mid-1940s and went on to become one of the leading experts on diabetes.

Her husband committed suicide in 1948.

Legacy

The Margaret Pyke Trust is a charity which supports medical education training courses for professionals and, alongside University College London, supports research in the field of contraception and sexual & reproductive health. The Trust was established in 1966 by Lady Jean Medawar and Pyke's son David Pyke.

Since 2003, the Trust has been the principal sponsor of its international programme, the Population and Sustainability Network (PSN). PSN works internationally to promote the profile of population related matters within the agendas of governments, policy research bodies and non-governmental organisations, with the aim of increasing support for investment in voluntary family planning programmes that respect and protect rights.

The Margaret Pyke Centre is the hub of a network of contraceptive clinics in London. The Centre was designed by Jane Drew and opened in 1969 by the Duke of Edinburgh at the invitation of Lady Medawar.

References


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