Pringle, Mia Lilly (1920–1983)

Austrian-born psychologist who was the first director of the National Children's Bureau. Born Mia Lilly Kellmer in Vienna, Austria, in 1920; died in 1983; daughter of Samuel Kellmer; Birkbeck College, London, B.A. in psychology, with first-class honors, 1944; awarded a Ph.D. in 1950; married William Joseph Somerville Pringle, in 1946 (divorced 1962).

Born in Vienna in 1920 and emigrating to Britain as a refugee in 1938, Mia Lilly Pringle received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Birkbeck College in 1944, after which she worked for a year as an educational and clinical psychologist at the London Child Guidance Training Center. She went on to serve as an educational psychologist in Hertfordshire from 1945 to 1950. After receiving her Ph.D. in 1950, Pringle taught at Birmingham University for 13 years, while also serving as head of the Remedial Education Center. In 1963, she was appointed the first director of the National Bureau for Cooperation in Child Care (later the National Children's Bureau), a post she held until 1981. Following her retirement, Pringle served as a consultant to UNICEF. Mia Pringle published numerous articles and books on child care, including The Needs of Children (1974), Adoption, Facts and Fallacies (1967), and Foster Home Care, Facts and Fallacies (1967), and also made frequent appearances on radio and television. Her awards included several honorary doctorates and the CBE, which she received in 1975.