Born: 7 August 1938, Australia
Died: NA
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: Helen Mary Broinowski
The following is republished with permission from the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
Among a lifetime of achievements, Dr Helen Caldicott founded the Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1977.
Helen Caldicott was born as Helen Broinowski in Melbourne on 7 August 1938. She graduated in Medicine from Adelaide University and, in 1975, established the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital.
In 1971, Helen was angered by French nuclear testing in the Pacific so she began campaigning against nuclear weapons. In 1975, she worked with Australian trade unions to educate their members about the dangers of the nuclear fuel cycle, with particular reference to uranium mining.
In 1977, while living in the United States she founded the group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, which eventually boasted 23,000 members. These doctors are committed to educating people about the dangers of nuclear power, nuclear weapons and nuclear war. On trips overseas she began spreading the organisation to other countries. The international umbrella group, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.
In 1980, Helen founded the Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND) in the United States. While there she was an instructor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and on the staff of the Children’s Hospital Medical Centre until 1980 when she resigned to work full-time on the prevention of nuclear war.
Helen returned to Australia in 1987 and in 1990 ran for Federal Parliament as an independent. She narrowly lost on preferences to Charles Blunt, the leader of the National Party.
Helen has received numerous prizes and honorary degrees. She has written many articles and four books, including Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do (1979), If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth (1992) and an autobiography A Passionate Life (1996). She has also been the subject of several films including Eight Minutes to Midnight (1982) and a documentary, If You Love This Planet (1983).
In 1995, she moved back to the United States to live on Long Island. She lectures, performs public speaking engagements, works in paediatrics and hosts a weekly radio talk show on WBAI (Pacifica).
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Helen Caldicott trained as a physician and went on to treat children afflicted with cystic fibrosis. During the early 1970s she played a major role in the Australian opposition to the French atmospheric tests in the Pacific. In 1978 Caldicott founded Physicians for Social Responsibility in the USA and has since founded and been a member of a number similar organisations. The recipient of many awards, she has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and has received honorary degrees from numerous universities.
Chronology
1961: Career position – Resident Medical Officer at Royal Adelaide Hospital
1967 – 1968: Career position – Research Fellow in the Nutrition Clinic at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, USA
1971 – 1972: Life event – Initiated movement against French atmospheric tests in the Pacific Ocean
1972: Career position – Intern at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital
1973 – 1974: Career position – Resident Medical Officer at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital
1975 – 1976: Career position – Founder/Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital
1977 – 1980: Career position – Assistant in Medicine at Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Harvard, USA
1977 – 1980: Career position – Instructor in Paediatrics at Harvard Medical School, USA
1978 – 1983: Career position – Founder and President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA
1980: Award – Margaret Mead Prize received from the Environment Defence Center
1980: Life event – Resigned to work full time on the prevention of nuclear war
1980: Career position – Co-leader of the Nuclear Freeze Voter Initiate Campaign
1980: Career position – Founder of Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament
1980: Award – Humanist of the Year Award received from the Ethical Society of Boston
1981: Award – Gandhi Peace Prize received
1982: Career position – Led public New Zealand education campaign (with Dr William Caldicott) resulting in the official New Zealand nuclear-free policy
1985: Award – United Nations Association for Australia Peace Medal Award received
1985: Award – John-Roger Foundation Integrity Award received
1992: Award – Norman Cousins Award for Peacemaking from the Physicians for Social Responsibility
1993: Award – Louis Mumford Award received from the Architects Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility
1994: Award – Distinguished Peace Leadership Award received from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
1995 – 1996: Career position – Instructor at New School for Social Research, New York, USA
1998: Career position – Patron of Parents Protecting Our Children Against Radiation in Lucas Heights, New South Wales
1999: Career position – Founder and Secretary of Our Common Future Political Party
1999 – 2000: Career position – President of the Star (Standing for Truth About Radiation) Foundation
2001: Career position – Laurie Chair in Women’s Studies at Douglass College at Rutger University, USA