Quick Facts
Biography
Maria Elisabeth Dickin CBE (nickname, Mia; 22 September 1870 – 1 March 1951) was a social reformer and an animal welfare pioneer who founded the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in 1917. Born in 1870 in London, she was the oldest of eight children; her parents were William George Dickin, a Wesleyan minister, and Ellen Maria (née Exell). She married her first cousin, Arnold Francis Dickin, an accountant, in 1899; they had no children. She enjoyed music, literary work and philanthropy. Dickin died in London in 1951 of influenzal broncho-pneumonia.
Legacy
The Dickin Medal is named after her.
A commemorative blue plaque was erected by English Heritage at Dickin's birthplace, 41 Cassland Road (formerly 1 Farringdon Terrace) in Hackney in October 2015.