Rachel Louise Carson was a marine biologist, author, and conservationist who wrote one of the most influential books in modern history, Silent Spring.
Her work has inspired the global environmental movement. It is now considered a classic and is the basis for countless environmental films and other publications.
At the age of ten, she began writing for children's magazines. She had her first published piece in St. Nicholas magazine at the age of 10.
She later graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Science degree in zoology.
Even after she finished her graduate studies, Carson continued to combine writing and science.
The publication of Silent Spring is Rachel Carson's most famous work.
It shook the foundations of the chemical industry's use of DDT, and served as an environmentalist and social justice movement's call to arms.
In her time, as a woman, she took a great risk in speaking out against powerful entities.
She continued to write for magazines and began her graduate studies at Pennsylvania College for Women, which is now Chatham College.
While there, a mentor introduced her to the natural world through her study of ecology.
This gave her the opportunity to combine her love of nature with her formal education in marine biology.