Malleson, Joan (1900–1956)
Malleson, Joan (1900–1956)
English doctor. Name variations: Joan Graeme Malleson; (pseudonym) Medica. Born Joan Graeme Billson, June 3, 1900; died of a coronary thrombosis (blood clot) in Fiji, en route back to Britain, May 14, 1956; m. Miles Malleson (actor-play-wright, 1888–1969), 1920s.
Family planning expert in Britain, served on the executive committee of the Family Planning Association; became qualified as a doctor at Charing Cross Hospital (1925) and was influenced by the psychologist and writer Havelock Ellis; encountered many patients with sexual challenges while working for the Holborn Borough Council and the West End Hospital for Nervous Diseases; worked as a medical officer at the clinic for sexual difficulties at the North Kensington Women's Welfare Centre; employed as a medical officer at University College Hospital's Obstetrics Department contraceptive clinic; on a professional exchange, had been visiting New Zealand when she died. Wrote The Principles of Contraception: A Handbook for GPs (1935) and Problems of Fertility in General Practice (with J. Stallworthy, 1953).