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Marie Stopes Facts & Worksheets

Marie Stopes was a prominent supporter of women’s rights and contraception. She was born in Scotland to Henry Stopes and Charlotte Carmichael Stopes

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Marie Stopes was a prominent supporter of women’s rights and contraception. She was born in Scotland to Henry Stopes and Charlotte Carmichael Stopes. Stopes planned to dedicate the first two decades of her life to research, the following two decades to social endeavors, and the latter to writing poetry.

See the fact file below for more information about Maria Stopes, or you can download our 24-page Marie Stopes worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Marie Stopes was born in Edinburgh. Her father, Henry Stopes, was a polymath from Colchester, excelling in brewing, engineering, architecture, and paleontology. Her mother, Charlotte Carmichael Stopes, advocated for women’s rights from Edinburgh. 
  • Stopes was introduced to science at a young age and attended gatherings where she interacted with renowned intellectuals. Initially, she received education at home but later attended St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh from 1892 to 1894.
  • Stopes concentrated mainly on her scientific career during her twenties and thirties. Stopes enrolled in the University of London in 1900 as a scholarship student at University College London. She focused on botany and geology and completed her studies with a first-class B.Sc. degree in 1902. She achieved this in two years by attending Birkbeck, University of London, day and night classes.
  • After Stopes’ father passed away in 1902, her paleobotany professor, Francis Oliver, mentored and employed her as his research assistant in early 1903. This ignited her interest in paleobotany, providing a foundation to start her profession.
  • She had the chance to collaborate with the top paleobotany scientists in the world. She received the Gilchrist scholarship from University College London in the same year, thanks to the support of Oliver and her geology professor, Edmund Garwood, who offered outstanding references.
  • After researching Carboniferous plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and University College, London, she used the Gilchrist Scholarship funds to support her studies on reproducing living cycads at the University of Munich for a year. She collaborated with Karl Goebel, a prominent paleobotanist specializing in cycads.
  • Stopes utilized this research as her doctoral thesis, which she delivered in German and was awarded a Ph.D. in botany in 1904. In 1904, she was among the initial women chosen as a fellow of the Linnean Society of London. She was also assigned as a demonstrator to educate pupils.
  • She held the fellow position and sometimes lectured on paleobotany at University College, London, until 1920.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

  • At 23 years old, she became the first female academic at the Victoria University of Manchester when she was appointed as a Lecturer in Paleobotany from 1904 to 1910.
  • While at Manchester, Stopes conducted a study on coal and coal balls and studied the collection of Glossopteris, which are Permian seed ferns. This was an effort to validate Eduard Suess’ theory about the presence of Gondwana or Pangaea. Encountering Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott at one of his fundraising lectures in 1904 presented an opportunity to potentially validate Suess’s theory.
  • Stopes’ fervor to validate Suess’ theory prompted her to consider participating in Scott’s next Antarctic expedition. She declined to participate in the voyage; however, Scott said he would retrieve fossil material to support the theory.
  • Studying Carboniferous coal balls with Francis Oliver at University College London sparked Stopes’ interest in this research area. Influence from Dawkins and Weiss at Victoria University of Manchester also played a significant role, along with her proximity to coal seams in the north of England.
  • Stopes initially collaborated with James Lomax, who specialized in creating thin petrographic sections during this phase of her studies. Due to their discord, she collaborated with David Meredith-Seares Watson, an undergraduate student, instead of Lomax. 
  • They jointly examined the coal-rich layers of northern England. They concluded that the coal balls seen in the region were created by the infiltration of saltwater into carboniferous peat bogs.
  • In 1910, the Geological Survey of Canada hired Stopes to establish the age of the Fern Ledges, a geological formation in Saint John, New Brunswick. 
  • The Lancaster Formation belongs to the Early Pennsylvanian era. Canadian researchers were split between assigning it to the Devonian period or the Pennsylvanian. 
  • Stopes landed in North America before Christmas to commence her studies. 
  • On December 29, 1910, Stopes encountered the Canadian researcher Reginald Ruggles Gates in St. Louis, Missouri, and they were engaged two days later. The pair married in March and returned to England on April 1 of the same year.
  • Stopes persisted in her studies. In mid-1912, she presented her findings, concluding they pertained to the Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous. 
  • The Government of Canada announced its results in 1914. The marriage between her and Gates was canceled later that year.
  • Stopes’ marriage to Gates was terrible. The relationship ended after a year because Gates was impotent after a brief, intense passion. Stopes, who opposed divorce, pursued an annulment based on non-consummation, which was approved in 1914.
  • Stopes got more intrigued by sexual matters and expanded her understanding of sexual ethics and reproductive physiology following the end of her first marriage. During this period, she was influenced by the works of Havelock Ellis. Her marriage experience validated her advocacy for sexual change and inspired her to write Married Love, which was published in 1918.

MARRIAGE

  • In 1918, Stopes married Humphrey Verdon Roe, a British businessman. Their son, Harry Stopes-Roe, who would later on become a philosopher, was born in 1924. Roe expressed her interest in birth control. Roe, a manufacturing mogul, observed the impact of repeated births on his female employees.
  • Married Love instantly brought Stopes popularity upon its premiere. Over 2000 copies were sold within two weeks, making it the first sex manual published in the United Kingdom.
  • Archival collections contain numerous letters written by women expressing gratitude to Stopes for her work and seeking information on birth control.
  • The book was deemed immoral and obscene by the church, the media, and the medical community. In 1935, US academics ranked Married Love as the 16th most significant book in a ranking of the top 25 works from the previous 50 years. 
  • Marie Stopes’ art is unique because of how she conveys the subject. She incorporated physiological terminology into a mainstream publication for the first time. Married Love was succeeded by the books Wise Parenthood, Radiant Motherhood, and Enduring Passion. Wise Parenthood discusses techniques for family planning.

FAMILY PLANNING

  • Marie Stopes encountered American birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger during a gathering at the Fabian Hall in London in mid-July 1915. Sanger addresses this meeting in her book My Fight for Birth Control. 
  • The alleged competition between Stopes and Sanger originated when Sanger showed interest in establishing a birth control clinic in London following a police raid on her clinic in the United States just nine days after its establishment. 
  • Stopes replied to Sanger in a letter, mentioning that she and her husband, Humphrey Roe, had intended to establish their clinic.
  • Stopes established the inaugural family planning clinic in the United Kingdom on March 17, 1921. 
  • The Mothers’ Clinic for Constructive Birth Control was at 61 Marlborough Rd, Holloway, North London. The clinic, funded by Stopes and her husband, only hired female doctors and nurses to create a more comfortable environment for female patients. 
  • The clinic provided complimentary birth control services to married women, particularly those in need, while also collecting scientific data on contraception. The clinic distributed rubber cervical caps created by Stopes herself.
  • In 1925, the Mothers’ Clinic relocated to downtown London and began offering contraceptives by mail order. 
  • Stopes faced resistance from the Anglican Church, the Catholic Church, and the medical community. She countered the criticism by distributing leaflets and delivering speeches supporting her cause.
  • In 1923, a Catholic doctor called Halliday Sutherland defamed Stopes in his book Birth Control. Sutherland said that individuals involved in birth control were utilizing impoverished individuals for scientific research. Stopes filed a lawsuit against Halliday but was unsuccessful in court.
  • She succeeded in the appeal but later failed in the House of Lords. The case garnered significant notice.
  • Sutherland mentioned Stopes’ degree from Munich to incite anti-German sentiments in the UK against her.

LATER LIFE AND DEATH

  • Stopes utilized her fame to promote awareness of her cause throughout her lifetime. She reportedly attached a book criticizing Catholic birth control methods to Westminster Cathedral. 1920s Stopes established other family planning clinics, one of which was the world’s first birth control caravan pulled by horses. In 1930, she established the National Birth Control Council, which was renamed the Family Planning Association. 
  • Marie Stopes passed away from breast cancer in 1958. During the year of her death, Anglican Bishops at the Lambeth Conference recognized the necessity of birth control, acknowledging that procreation was not the exclusive aim of Christian marriage. Marie Stopes International is an organization that carries on its legacy by offering reproductive health services to over four million individuals in more than 35 countries through 452 clinics globally.

Marie Stopes Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Marie Stopes across 24 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Marie Stopes. Stopes planned to dedicate the first two decades of her life to research, the following two decades to social endeavors, and the latter to writing poetry.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Marie Stopes Facts
  2. Knowing Maries
  3. What makes it wrong?
  4. Short Answer
  5. A Woman
  6. Empowered Woman
  7. Impact Analysis
  8. Make a Stand
  9. Marie Everywhere
  10. Married Love
  11. Women’s Right

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Marie Stopes?

Marie Stopes was a prominent British scientist, author, and campaigner for women’s rights, best known for her pioneering work in the field of birth control and sexual health in the early 20th century.

What were Marie Stopes’ contributions to society?

Stopes made significant contributions to society through her advocacy for birth control and reproductive rights. She opened the first birth control clinic in Britain in 1921, which later evolved into the organization now known as Marie Stopes International. She also wrote several influential books on sex education and birth control, aimed at promoting women’s health and autonomy.

What was the significance of Marie Stopes’ work?

Stopes played a crucial role in challenging societal taboos surrounding contraception and promoting the idea that women should have control over their reproductive choices. Her efforts contributed to the eventual legalization of birth control in many countries and paved the way for advancements in reproductive health care.

How did Marie Stopes’ legacy endure?

Stopes’ legacy endures through the continued operation of Marie Stopes International, which provides reproductive health services to millions of people worldwide. Her work also influenced subsequent generations of activists and researchers working in the fields of reproductive rights and women’s health.

What controversies surrounded Marie Stopes?

Despite her groundbreaking contributions, Stopes’ views on eugenics and race have sparked controversy. She advocated for selective breeding to improve the human race, a stance that has been criticized as racist and elitist. While her contributions to women’s health are widely recognized, her support for eugenics remains a subject of debate and criticism.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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