Charles Killick Millard (1870–1952) was a British doctor who in 1935 founded the

Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...

(now Dignity in Dying), a movement that campaigned for the legalisation of

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

in Great Britain. In addition to supporting euthanasia, Millard had supported movements advocating for temperance, eugenics, cremation and

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

, and help found the first birth control clinic in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He received his MD degree in 1896 and served as Medical Officer of Health for Leicester from 1901 to 1935. There had been strong opposition to compulsory smallpox vaccination in Leicester for many years and, as a strong supporter of vaccination, Millard had to work within this established framework. Whilst still supporting vaccination he argued against compulsory vaccination of infants and the use of mass vaccination to control outbreaks. Instead, he advocated isolation of cases and voluntary vaccination of medical and nursing staff and of contacts of cases. This proved successful and was adopted generally when compulsory vaccination was abolished. His son Maurice Langley Millard MB ChB (1900–1987), educated at Bradfield College and Birmingham University, was a long-serving general medical practitioner in Leicester. In his younger days he was a noted rugby player for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

and also for the county team. In 1931 he married Barbara Morrison (1903–1987), youngest daughter of Peter William Purves and his wife Mary Gundred Warren; they had no children. He was an Anglican.

Selected publications

''The Vaccination Question in the Light of Modern Experience''
(1914)
''The End of Compulsory Vaccination''
(1948)

References

External links

*
Dignity in Dying (UK)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millard, Killick 1870 births 1952 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors British birth control activists Euthanasia activists Unitarian Universalists