October 15 in Scottish History

On this day in 1880 Dr Marie Stopes, founder of first modern birth control clinic, was born in Edinburgh. Stopes was originally a palaeontologist of some renown, but it was in the field of family planning that she became a somewhat controversial public figure. After a failed marriage was annulled she wrote a book on birth control and sexual technique, 'Married Love' (1918). Though praised by medical journals, it enraged churchmen and the greater medical establishment, who mistakenly thought she supported loose morals. Apart from directly educating thousands of women, the scandal she created undoubtedly had a positive effect on society by forcing discussion of taboo subjects. She later opened a clinic and spent years teaching women about the merits of birth control, and though she had many enemies, she also had many important supporters, including Lloyd George.

Today in 1915 HMS Hawke was sunk off the northeast coast of Scotland by a U-boat. A torpedo struck the ship's magazine, and the resulting huge explosion damaged the Hawke so severely that she sank in eight minutes, leaving only 60 or so survivors. More than 400 of her crew perished.

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