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Katharine Dexter McCormick: Philanthropist Behind the Birth Control Pill
Katharine Dexter McCormick, born into affluence and further enriching her fortune through matrimony, chose a path of impactful contribution rather than leisurely indulgence. Harnessing her substantial wealth and resolute determination, she dedicated herself to improving the lives of women. A committed activist and generous benefactor, McCormick strategically deployed her resources, most notably to finance the foundational research culminating in the development of the birth control pill in the late 1950s. Her pivotal role marks her as a key figure in the history of women’s rights and reproductive health.
Early Advocacy for Contraception and Collaboration with Margaret Sanger
McCormick’s dedication to birth control emerged in the 1910s, sparked by the work of Margaret Sanger, a prominent feminist leader who faced imprisonment for establishing the first birth control clinic in the nation. Sharing Sanger’s unwavering conviction that women should govern their reproductive destinies, McCormick became a staunch ally.
Their alliance solidified in 1917, leading to an intricate plan to import diaphragms into the United States, where they were then prohibited.
The Comstock Act of 1873 outlawed the distribution of “obscene, lewd or lascivious” materials, including contraceptives, through the postal service, rendering diaphragms illegal. This legislation, originally intended to suppress pornography, significantly restricted access to contraception. (The Comstock Act’s relevance has resurfaced following the reversal of federal abortion rights in 2022, as it still restricts mailing items related to abortions.)
Ingenious Smuggling Operation
Proficient in French and German, McCormick ventured to Europe, where diaphragms were commonly available. Leveraging her biology background from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), she adeptly posed as a scientist to engage with diaphragm manufacturers. According to a 2011 MIT Technology Review article, she “procured hundreds of the devices and employed local seamstresses to conceal them within dresses, evening wear, and coats.” These garments were then carefully packaged into trunks for clandestine shipment.
Her successful passage through customs with these trunks underscored her audacious strategy. The aforementioned article speculated that authorities, had they intervened, would have merely encountered “slightly padded dresses in the possession of an imperious socialite,” whose commanding presence and lavish tipping would have deflected any suspicion.
Funding the Development of the Oral Contraceptive
Between 1922 and 1925, McCormick successfully smuggled over 1,000 diaphragms to Sanger’s clinics, significantly supporting the burgeoning birth control movement.
Following her husband’s passing in 1947 and a substantial inheritance, McCormick sought Sanger’s counsel on directing funds toward contraceptive research. In 1953, Sanger facilitated an introduction to Gregory Goodwin Pincus and Min-Chueh Chang, researchers at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Massachusetts, who were pioneering the development of a safe and effective oral contraceptive.
Enthusiastic about their groundbreaking work, McCormick became the primary financial backer, contributing approximately $2 million (equivalent to around $23 million today) for the pill’s development. Her commitment was so profound that she relocated to Worcester to closely monitor and bolster their research efforts. Elizabeth Pincus, Gregory’s wife, characterized McCormick as a formidable figure, stating, “She was no dainty old woman. She was a grenadier.”
In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the pill for contraception, marking a transformative moment in reproductive health.
Early Life, Family, and Education
Katharine Moore Dexter was born into a wealthy and socially conscious family on August 27, 1875, in Dexter, Michigan, a town named after her grandfather, Samuel W. Dexter. Her lineage was steeped in public service and activism; Samuel W. Dexter, the town’s founder in 1824, operated an Underground Railroad station at his home, Katharine’s birthplace. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Dexter, served as Treasury Secretary under President John Adams.
Katharine and her older brother, Samuel T. Dexter, spent their formative years in Chicago. Their mother, Josephine (Moore) Dexter, a Boston Brahmin, championed women’s rights. Wirt Dexter, their father, was a prominent lawyer, president of the Chicago Bar Association, and a director of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He also spearheaded the relief efforts following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and was a significant real estate developer.
The early deaths of her father when she was 14, followed by her brother’s passing from meningitis while at Harvard Law School, influenced her path toward medicine.
Education at M.I.T. and Marriage to Stanley McCormick
McCormick pursued biology at MIT, an uncommon field for women at the time. Demonstrating independent thinking early on, she successfully challenged the rule mandating hats for female students, citing fire hazards in science laboratories. Graduating in 1904, she initially intended to pursue medical school.
However, her plans changed as she became romantically involved with Stanley Robert McCormick, whom she knew from Chicago. Stanley was heir to a vast fortune from a mechanical harvesting machine invented by his father. As a young lawyer, he played a role in a merger that established his family as major stakeholders in International Harvester, which by 1909 became the fourth-largest industrial corporation in America based on assets.
McCormick was persuaded by Stanley to marry him, diverting her from medical studies. They married at her mother’s Swiss château and settled in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Husband’s Illness and McCormick’s Social Activism
Even before their marriage, Stanley displayed indications of mental instability, escalating into severe paranoid delusions. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he remained under psychiatric care, primarily at Riven Rock, the McCormick family estate in Montecito, California, until his death. Katharine remained married to him but never remarried, and they had no children.
For decades, Katharine McCormick was embroiled in personal, medical, and legal disputes with her husband’s family concerning his care, guardianship, and eventual estate, detailed in a 2007 Prologue Magazine article. As his sole heir, she inherited approximately $40 million (equivalent to $563 million today). Combined with her $10 million inheritance from her mother (over $222 million today), she became one of the wealthiest women in the United States.
As her husband’s illness dominated her personal life, McCormick channeled her energies into social causes. She contributed financially to the suffrage movement, delivered speeches, and ascended to leadership positions, including treasurer and vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Following women’s suffrage in 1920, the association transitioned into the League of Women Voters, where McCormick also served as vice president.
Later Philanthropy and Legacy at M.I.T.
In 1927, driven by the belief that adrenal gland dysfunction contributed to her husband’s schizophrenia, she founded the Neuroendocrine Research Foundation at Harvard Medical School. She provided funding for twenty years and developed expertise in endocrinology, which later informed her interest in oral contraceptive development.
Following the FDA’s approval of the pill, McCormick directed her philanthropic efforts toward funding the first on-campus housing for women at M.I.T. Recalling her own time there when female students lacked housing, a deterrent for many prospective applicants, she asserted, “I believe if we can get them properly housed, that the best scientific education in our country will be open to them permanently.”
McCormick Hall, named in honor of her husband, opened at MIT’s Cambridge campus in 1963. At that time, women comprised about 3% of undergraduate students; today, they constitute approximately 50%.
By the time of her death from a stroke on December 28, 1967, at her Boston home, McCormick had significantly advanced opportunities for women in the 20th century. She was 92 years old.
Unrecognized Impact and Lasting Contributions
Apart from a brief article in The Boston Globe, her death received scant acknowledgment. Subsequent obituaries of the birth control researchers she supported failed to recognize her crucial role in their accomplishments.
In her will, she bequeathed $5 million to the Planned Parenthood Federation (over $46 million today) and $1 million to Pincus’s laboratories (over $9 million today). Earlier, she had donated her inherited Swiss property to the U.S. government for diplomatic use in Geneva. The majority of her remaining estate was left to M.I.T., ensuring her enduring impact on women’s education and reproductive rights.