Pérola Byington

Pérola Ellis Byington (3 December 1879 – 6 November 1963) was a Brazilian philanthropist and social activist.

[1] On 3 December 1879, Byington was born as Pearl Ellis McIntyre in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil.

[2] Byington's parents were Mary Elisabeth Ellis and Robert Dickson McIntyre, American Confederado immigrants who settled in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.

During the First World War, Byington was in the United States, where she was responsible for a section of the Red Cross.

From the 1930s, Byington alongside the teacher Maria Antonieta de Castro led a campaign to combat child mortality, called "Cruzada Pró-Infância", (Crusade for Childhood) a task which she held for 33 years.