Ada Ballin’s main passion and focus was the health of women and children. She wrote articles, lectured, and published magazines on the topic. She advocated against poisonous dyes and tight lacing in clothing, instructed mothers on how best to raise their children, and encouraged the independence of women. 

Ballin was born on May 4, 1863, in the Bloomsbury neighborhood of London, to Annie and Isaac Ballin. She attended University College, London where she was one of the youngest students and one of few women. Although she never earned a degree, she was the first woman to receive the Hollier Scholarship for Hebrew, in 1880; she also received the Fielden scholarship for French and German and the Heimann silver medal for German and studied public health.  

Ballin’s first book, A Hebrew Grammer with Exercises Selected from the Bible, was published in 1881. In 1883, she published an article about children's clothing in Health. On July 14, 1884, she delivered a lecture on safer and healthier clothing for women and children to a large audience at the International Health Exhibition. She lectured regularly for the National Health Society from 1880 to 1887.  

In 1887, Ballin became editor of the health and beauty section of Lady’s Pictorial Magazine, a position she held until 1894. Later in 1887, she released the first issue of the illustrated monthly Baby: The Mother’s Magazine. It marked Ballin's first and most successful publishing endeavor, appearing until 1915. Child-care was an expanding market at this time, and Ballin released many pamphlets on the topic, such as How to Feed our Little Ones; Bathing, Exercise, and Rest; Early Education; and Children’s Ailments. She soon developed into a prominent figure and expert on the care of children.  

In 1898, Ballin launched her second journal, Womanhood: The Magazine of Woman’s Progress and Interests, Political, Legal, Social, and Intellectual, and of Health and Beauty Culture, geared towards the educated woman and encouraging self-sufficiency and freedom of thought. Ballin herself wrote many articles on sport and exercise, one of her passions. In 1900, she launched Playtime: The Children’s Magazine.  

Ballin published a number of books, including Health and Beauty in Dress from Infancy to Old Age (1892), The Kindergarten System Explained (1896), Nursery Cookery (1900), and From Cradle to School (1902). She also worked as a counselor for twenty years, advising mothers and nurses at home. Additionally, she was involved in a number of products aimed at promoting children’s health, including the Ballin baby bottle, the Ballin baby safety corselet, the Ballin hygienic layette, and Ballin’s cold cure.  

Ballin died on May 14, 1906, after tragically falling from a window. She passed down the management of Womanhood, Playtime, and Baby to her brother. Womanhood and Playtime ceased publication one year later. Baby continued publication until 1915.  

Sources: 

“Ada Ballin.” Wikipedia., December 24, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Ballin.  

“Ballin, Ada S., (Died 28 May 1906), Journalist, Author, Editor, and Magazine Proprietor.” WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. Accessed April 23, 2023. https://www.ukwhoswho.com/display/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-183443;jsessionid=00146335B5522CA69366F1468D7FCA2F#ww-9780199540884-e-183443-div1-5.  

“Ballin, Ada Sarah (1862–1906), Magazine Editor and Proprietor, and Writer on Health.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 23, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/55732. 

Mitchell, Charlotte. “‘Women Students at UCL in the Early 1880s’ - UCL.AC.UK.” Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project/articles/events/conference2008/mitchell.pdf.