Barbara Mary Smoker (2 June 1923 – 7 April 2020)[1] was a British humanist activist and freethought advocate.

In 1949 she became an atheist,[2] inspired by the writing of Hector Hawton,[3] managing director of the Rationalist Press Association and editor of The Humanist.

[4] Her longest stint in her career as an activist was her tenure as President of the National Secular Society, spanning nearly 25 years (1972 [5]–1996).

In that capacity, she represented atheist and secularist viewpoints in print, on lecture platforms, speaking tours, on radio and television.

As well as leading the NSS, she was also active in various social campaigns, such as the abolition of the death penalty, prison reform, nuclear disarmament, legalisation of abortion and for the Voluntary Euthanasia Society; she served as chair of the latter organisation from 1981 to 1985.