Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. In Carson's youth, her mother nurtured her lasting love for nature. Carson graduated from Chatham University (then Pennsylvania College for Women) in 1929 and received her masters in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. She worked in the U.S. Fisheries to write radio scripts and freelanced at the Baltimore Sun to write feature articles about natural history. By 1936, she rose to Editor-in-Chief of all publications in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. She began using her research to write lyrical prose about nature and later, to publish books, starting with The Sea Around Us (1952) and The Edge of the Sea (1955), making Carson famous. She quit her job in 1952 to focus on her writing.
DDT (a powerful pesticide) rose in popularity after it was effectively used in World War II to prevent disease (malaria, typhoid, etc) and kill insects harmful to crops. The American government (Department of Agriculture) increasingly advertised it and helped its distribution following the war.
However, little was revealed about DDT's adverse effects on the natural world and humans before Carson's book, Silent Spring: she explained how it accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, causing cancer and genetic damage; how it not only killed insects, but many more organisms wherever it was applied; and how it remained toxic to the environment for long periods even after its use. Essentially, DDT was a carcinogen and a pollutant, and could rapidly lead to the extinction of multiple animals.
She received backlash from the chemical industry, but had prepared fellow scientists and 55 pages of peer research to defend her claims. And from concerned readers, she received hundreds of letters asking how they could help. Thus, the environmental movement was born.
Carson continued to write about and connect with organizations to spread awareness about the dangers of DDT.
An Interview with Rachel Carson October 14, 1962. Janet Koltun, Jul. 22, 2025
Carson with the National Council of Women June 20, 1963. Evening Star Staff, Jul. 22, 2025
Rachel Carson speaking before Senate Government Operations subcommittee studying pesticide spraying, 1963. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection, LC-USZ62-111207
She was asked to speak before the senate, among other witnesses, for the country's use of DDT to be reevaluated.
Rachel Carson died in 1964 before she could see the extent of her impact and work, but in 1972, the EPA issued a cancellation order for DDT and its use in America was phased out in the following years.