Rachel Carson

Women in Science

Rachel Carson May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964

About

Carson wrote three books- Under the Sea Wind (1941), The Sea Around Us (1952), and The Edge of the Sea (1955) before writing Silent Spring in 1962. In Silent Spring, Carson highlighted the dangers of pesticides, mainly DDT, and its effects on the environment.

Her findings were acknowledged by the federal government, lead to the ban of DDT, and created a new mindfulness of the role humans play in the state of the environment. Silent Spring served as an impetus for the environmental movement.

Did you Know?

On the coast of Maine, a refuge was named the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1969.

Carson died from cancer in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1964. Her home in Silver Spring is maintain and open to the public for visit and lectures.