Date of Birth: May 27, 1907
Place of Birth: Springdale, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: April 14, 1964
Place of Death: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Classification: Scientists & Thinkers
Although she intended to study creative writing at the Pennsylvania College for Women, Rachel Carson ended up pursuing her love of the natural world through Biology. And, after receiving her BA in the field, she continued her studies at Johns Hopkins University and obtained an MA in 1932. Little did she or anyone else predict that her strengths at writing and her observant biological eye would see her latter publications The Sea Around Us and Silent Spring shoot to the top of the bestseller lists.
As she grew up in the wooded areas of rural Pennsylvania, the young Rachel often found solace in the natural world. Her mother encouraged her to pursue her dreams and often encouraged the child to go out and explore the world around her. Upon graduation from High School, where she discovered her own love of reading and writing, her later change in majors would see her doing postgraduate biological research at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.
In the mid 1930s, Carson worked with what would become the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She worked with the organization for over fifteen years. Her remaining years with the organization were spent being the editor of their national publications. During her tenure, she submitted an article that was published in the Atlantic Monthly. With her love of writing and her newfound inspiration of wanting to share her findings, she decided to publish her first book called Under the Sea-Wind.
Rachel Carson’s books were all widely reviewed and praised. Her style was something new to both the mainstream and scientific community in that she could reach both. Her prose has been called lyrical, elegant, and thorough. The Sea Around Us, besides being a bestseller, won America’s National Book Award, was translated into over 25 languages, and distributed extensively abroad. Silent Spring has been called her most prominent work for its visionary approach at telling the world the realities of industry, pesticides, and chemical dumping on nature. A national campaign by pesticide companies could not come close to matching the fervor with which her book was read and sold.
