Mary Engle Pennington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Engle Pennington
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Pennington in 1940
|
|
| Born | October 8, 1872 |
| Died | December 27, 1952 (aged 80) |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Awards | Garvan-Olin Medal (1940) National Women's Hall of Fame ASHRAE Hall of Fame National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bacteriological Chemist Refrigeration Engineer |
| Institutions | Yale University |
Mary Engle Pennington (born October 8, 1872 – died December 27, 1952) was a very smart American scientist. She was a chemist who studied tiny living things like bacteria. She was also an engineer who worked on keeping things cold, especially food.
Contents
Early Life and School
Mary Engle Pennington was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Soon after she was born, her family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They wanted to be closer to her mother's Quaker relatives. Quakers are a religious group known for their simple way of life.
Mary showed a strong interest in chemistry from a young age. She started at the University of Pennsylvania in 1890. She finished her studies in chemistry, botany, and zoology in 1892. However, the university did not give degrees to women at that time. So, she received a special certificate instead of a full degree.
Advanced Studies and Early Work
Mary Pennington earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1895. Her main project was about special chemical elements. From 1897 to 1899, she studied at Yale University. There, she researched how chemicals work in the body.
In 1898, she started her own laboratory in Philadelphia. She also became the Director of the Clinical Laboratory at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. She worked for the Philadelphia Bureau of Health too. In this job, she helped make rules to keep milk and milk products clean and safe.
Later Life
Mary Pennington passed away on December 27, 1952, in New York. She is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Working for the U.S. Government
In 1905, Mary Pennington began working for the United States Department of Agriculture. She was a chemist who focused on bacteria. Her boss, Harvey W. Wiley, encouraged her to lead a new group. This group was called the Food Research Laboratory. It was set up to make sure food was safe, following the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This law helped protect people from unsafe food and medicines.
Mary took the job in 1907. One of her biggest achievements was creating rules for safely preparing chickens for people to eat. She also studied how to design refrigerated train cars. These cars were used to keep food cold during transport. During World War I, she worked with Herbert Hoover on the War Food Administration. This group helped manage food supplies during the war.
Becoming a Refrigeration Expert
Mary Pennington's work with refrigerated train cars sparked her interest in keeping all kinds of food cold. This included how food was transported and stored at home. In 1919, she and Howard Castner Pierce received a patent. A patent is a special right given to an inventor. Their invention was a metal rack for cooling and sorting poultry (like chickens).
Starting Her Own Business
In 1919, Mary joined a private company called American Balsa. This company made insulation for refrigerators. Insulation helps keep cold air inside. In 1922, she left to start her own consulting business. She ran this business until she retired in 1952.
In 1923, she started the Household Refrigeration Bureau. Her goal was to teach people how to safely store food in their home refrigerators. Much of her work in the 1920s was supported by the National Association of Ice Industries. This group was made up of companies that delivered ice to homes. Before electric refrigerators were common, people used iceboxes that needed ice delivered. Mary wrote helpful booklets for families. These included The Care of the Child's Food in the Home (1925) and Cold is the Absence of Heat (1927).
Awards and Recognition
Mary Engle Pennington received many important awards. She won the Garvan–Olin Medal, which is the highest award for women in the American Chemical Society. She is also a member of the National Women's Hall of Fame. This hall honors American women who have made great achievements. She is also in the ASHRAE Hall of Fame.
In 1959, she was the first woman chosen for the Poultry Historical Society Hall of Fame. In 2018, she was added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. This honors people who have created amazing inventions.
See also
In Spanish: Mary Engle Pennington para niños
