Caldicott, Helen Mary (1938-…), is an Australian-born physician, writer, and activist known for her efforts to ban nuclear weapons and nuclear power. She has worked on international campaigns dedicated to educating people about the health and environmental dangers of nuclear energy. Her passionate speaking style combined with medical knowledge of the harmful effects of radiation have played an important role in bringing issues of nuclear safety to the public.
In 1971, Caldicott learned that France had been conducting nuclear weapons tests over the South Pacific Island of Mururoa. Radioactive fallout from the tests had drifted toward Australia. Caldicott’s speeches on the dangers posed by the fallout led to mass protests against the French tests and a boycott of French products by Australians. In 1973, France agreed to restrict its nuclear testing to underground sites. Later, Caldicott led a campaign to halt the mining and export of uranium in Australia.
While living in the United States from 1977 to 1986, Caldicott revived the Physicians for Social Responsibility, an organization of doctors committed to educating the public about the dangers of nuclear weapons. The organization was founded in 1962, but its membership and activity had declined over the years. Under Caldicott’s leadership, however, the organization expanded to more than 20,000 members. She also founded the Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament in 1980.
Caldicott was born on Aug. 7, 1938, in Melbourne. She received her medical degree from the University of Adelaide in Australia in 1961. She specialized in pediatrics. In 1975, she founded the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital. From 1977 to 1980, she was an instructor at Harvard Medical School, and she also worked at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston. In 1980, she resigned her medical positions to work full-time on nuclear issues. In addition to many articles, she has written several books. These include Nuclear Madness (1979), Missile Envy (1984), If You Love This Planet (1992), the autobiography A Desperate Passion (1996), and The New Nuclear Danger (2001).
