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Biography: Life of Rachel Carson
Born 1907, Died 1964
Rachel Louise Carson was born on May 27, 1907 at Springdale, Pennsylvania. Growing up on a farm, she was encouraged by her mother in her love of nature.
Rachel Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (Chatham College) in 1929. She had wanted to be a writer, but believing that she did not have the talent to write fiction, turned to biology. In 1932 Rachel Carson received a M.A. in zoology from Johns Hopkins University.
In 1935 Rachel Carson took a job with the United States Bureau of Fisheries writing radio scripts and pamphlets on conservation. She was eventually hired as a full time biologist for the Bureau. Rachel Carson was with the Bureau of Fisheries for fifteen years. She was chief editor of all publications when she left the job.
During the 1940s Rachel Carson published three books about her observations of life in the sea. A fourth book The Sea Around Us, published in 1951, brought Rachel Carson fame and the financial freedom to pursue her research.
Her research and studies led Rachel Carson to an understanding of the dangers of pesticides on nature and the environment. In 1962 the startling results of her research were revealed when Silent Spring was published. This work described how DDT entered the food chain and the long term effect it had on animals and human beings, causing genetic damage and cancer. Rachel Carson was strongly challenged by the chemical industry, which still today attempts to discredit her.
The publication of Silent Spring prompted President John F. Kennedy to call for a study of the chemicals mentioned in the book. The committee which President Kennedy formed supported Rachel Carson and her findings. The use of DDT was eventually banned.
Rachel Carson has rightly been credited with starting the modern environmental movement. She died on April 14, 1964 in Silver Springs, Maryland from breast cancer.
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