Ruth Patrick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ruth Patrick
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Patrick in 1975
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| Born | November 26, 1907 |
| Died | September 23, 2013 (aged 105) |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Awards | National Medal of Science Lewis L. Dollinger Pure Environment Award (1970) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botanist and Limnologist |
| Institutions | Academy of Natural Sciences |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | R.M.Patrick |
Ruth Myrtle Patrick (born November 26, 1907 – died September 23, 2013) was an American scientist. She was a botanist, studying plants, and a limnologist, studying freshwater. Ruth was especially interested in tiny algae called diatoms and how living things interact in freshwater environments. She wrote over 200 scientific papers and created ways to check how healthy freshwater ecosystems were. She also started many research centers.
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Early Life and Education
Ruth Patrick's father, Frank Patrick, was a banker and a lawyer. He also loved science and had a degree in botany. He often took Ruth and her sister on Sunday trips to collect samples from streams. They especially looked for diatoms. This sparked Ruth's lifelong interest in these tiny organisms and how they fit into nature.
Ruth remembered how exciting it was: "I collected everything: worms, mushrooms, plants, rocks. I remember the feeling I got when my father would roll back the top of his big desk in the library and roll out the microscope... it was miraculous, looking through a window at the whole other world."
Ruth went to Sunset Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri, and finished in 1925. Her mother wanted her to go to Coker College, a women's school. But her father made sure she took science courses in the summer. He worried Coker might not have strong science programs. After graduating in 1929, she went to the University of Virginia. She earned her master's degree in 1931 and her Ph.D. in 1934.
Ruth Patrick's Scientific Career
Ruth Patrick's studies of ancient diatoms showed that the Great Dismal Swamp was once a forest. It later became flooded by seawater. Her research also proved that the Great Salt Lake was not always a salty lake.
During the Great Depression, Ruth volunteered at the Academy of Natural Sciences. She worked there for eight years without pay as a curator of microscopy. In 1945, she finally started getting paid. Two years later, in 1947, she created and led the academy's Department of Limnology. She worked there for many years and was known as a great scientist and leader.
In 1967, she helped start the Stroud Water Research Center. This center was built on land owned by W.B. Dixon Stroud and his wife, Joan Milliken Stroud, in Pennsylvania.
Studying Water Health
In the 1930s, Ruth's work on the Great Salt Lake used the history of diatoms found in the lake's mud. This helped her prove the lake was once freshwater. She also found clues about why it became salty.
In 1945, she invented the diatometer. This device helped collect better samples for studying how different living things affect water health. Ruth was a pioneer in using the variety of life (biodiversity) to figure out how healthy a body of water was.
She worked with both scientists and big companies like DuPont. This helped everyone understand how pollution affects rivers, lakes, and our drinking water. Ruth was a strong supporter of clean water. She even helped create the rules for the US Congress Clean Water Act. President Lyndon B. Johnson asked for her advice on water pollution. Later, President Ronald Reagan asked for her ideas on acid rain.
Awards and Honours
Ruth Patrick's work was published widely, and she received many awards for her scientific achievements. Here are some of the highlights:
- Eminent Ecologist Award from the Ecological Society of America in 1972
- John and Alice Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1975
- Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1975
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1976
- Golden Medal from the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Belgium, in 1978
- Honorary Lifetime Membership from the American Society of Naturalists in 1988
- Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences in 1993
- National Medal of Science in 1996
- A.C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography in 1996
- Mendel Medal from Villanova University (the university's highest honor) in 2002
- Heinz Award Chairman's Medal in 2002
The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center in Aiken, South Carolina, is named after her. The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography also gives out a Ruth Patrick Award. This award honors scientists who use basic water science to solve important environmental problems.
When scientists mention plants she studied, they use the author abbreviation R.M.Patrick.
On November 17, 2007, a special party was held to celebrate Ruth Patrick's 100th birthday. It took place at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. The Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, was one of the notable guests.
Dr. Patrick received more than 25 honorary degrees. In 2009, she was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Personal Life
Ruth Patrick was married twice. She kept her maiden name, Patrick, for her scientific papers because her father asked her to. Her husbands were Charles Hodge IV and Lewis H. Van Dusen Jr. She had one son with Charles Hodge IV. Charles was an entomologist, a scientist who studies insects. He was also a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin.
Ruth Patrick passed away in 2013 at a retirement home. She was 105 years old. As a way to honor her father and her childhood in Kansas City, Missouri, Dr. Patrick left most of her library to the Linda Hall Library. These books are all about microscopes and what you can see with them.
See also
In Spanish: Ruth Patrick para niños
