Mary Adams

Background

Mary Adams was born on 10 March 1898 in Hermitage, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom. She was the daughter of Edward Bloxham (a fanner) and Catherine Elizabeth Mary (Gunter) Campin.

Education

Mary gained a first-class honors degree in Botany from the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire (now Cardiff University). Subsequently Adams studied tissue culture at Cambridge University at the Strangeways Research Laboratory under Professor Strangeways.

Career

Adams began her broadcasting career in 1928 when she was a tutor and lecturer at Cambridge University. She developed a series, later published as Six Talks on Heredity, for the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and it was during this time that she recognized the educational potential of broadcasting. Within two years, Adams joined the staff of the BBC as its adult education officer. In 1936, Adams accepted a position as a television producer at the company’s new television service. Thus, she became the first woman to hold such a position.

As a producer, Adams developed programming in a variety of areas, including education, politics, talk, and culture. The Television Service’s operations ended at the onset of World War II, so Adams worked for North American Service broadcasting. Throughout the war, she produced programs aimed at boosting listeners’ morale, such as Transatlantic Quiz. Adams returned to the BBC in 1946 and produced shows on cooking, gardening, art, science, and world celebrations.

Considered the first producer to bring medical information via television to the public, Adams developed several health-related series, beginning in 1949 with A Matter of Life and Death. Her other medical series included Matters of Medicine, The Hurt Mind, and Your Life in Their Hands. Adams also produced quiz shows - notably Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?, which aired during the 1950s - and children’s programs such as Muffin the Mule and Andy Pandy.

Adams retired from the BBC in 1958, although she continued to serve as a consultant for the company many years after her official departure.

Achievements

• Mary Adams was a pioneer in the fields of broadcasting and television, she was the first female television producer in England. She is remembered for the attention her programs brought to topics otherwise left in the realm of professional literature, including medical and health information. She was instrumental in setting up the BBC's television service both before and after the Second World War.

Works

More photos

• Other Work

  • Six Talks on Heredity: A Handbook to the Cradle

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Her daughter says, "She was a socialist, a romantic and could charm with her charisma, spontaneity, and quick informed intelligence. She was a fervent atheist and advocate of humanism and common sense, accepting her stance without subjecting it to analysis."

Connections

Mary married Vyvyan Adams (politician and reformer) on February 23, 1925. They had one daughter.

Father:

Edward Bloxham Campin

Mother:

Catherine Elizabeth Mary (Gunter) Campin

Spouse:

Vyvyan Adams

References

• The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 10: 1981-1985; With an Index Covering the Years 1901-1985 in One Alphabetical Series