Rachel Carson

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Lore & Background

Rachel Carson was born on May 27, 1907, on a family farm near Springdale, Pennsylvania, located by the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh. She was the daughter of Maria Frazier (McLean) and Robert Warden Carson, an insurance salesman. She spent a lot of time exploring around her family's 65-acre farm. An avid reader, she began writing stories, often involving animals, at age eight. At age ten, she had her first story published. She attended Springdale's small school through tenth grade, and then completed high school in nearby Parnassus, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1925 at the top of her class of 44 students. Carson gained admission to Pennsylvania College for Women, now Chatham University, in Pittsburgh, where she originally studied English but switched her major to biology in January 1928. She was admitted to graduate school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1928, but was forced to remain at the Pennsylvania College for Women for her senior year due to financial difficulties. In 1929, she graduated magna cum laude. In the summer of 1929, Carson moved to Woods Hole, Massachusetts for a course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL). While at MBL, Carson wrote a 'detailed anatomical study of the brain and cranial nerves of a turtle.' Her time at MBL had a profound impact on Carson, who later stated that her 'first prolonged contact with the sea [was] at Woods Hole,' where she 'first discovered the scientific literature of the sea.' That fall, she continued her studies in zoology and genetics at Johns Hopkins. After her first year of graduate school, Carson became a part-time student, taking an assistantship in Raymond Pearl's laboratory, where she worked with rats and Drosophila, to earn money for tuition. After false starts with pit vipers and squirrels, she completed a dissertation on the embryonic development of the pronephros (urinary organ) in fish. In June 1932, she earned a master's degree in zoology. She had intended to continue for a doctorate, however in 1934 Carson was forced to leave Johns Hopkins to search for a full-time teaching position to help support her family during the Great Depression. In 1935, Carson's father died suddenly, worsening their already critical financial situation and leaving Carson to care for her aging mother. At the urging of Mary Scott Skinker, her undergraduate biology mentor, Carson secured a temporary position with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, where she wrote radio copy for a series of weekly educational broadcasts called *Romance Under the Waters*. The series of 52 seven-minute programs focused on aquatic life. Carson's supervisor, pleased with the success of the radio series, asked her to write the introduction to a public brochure about the fisheries bureau; he also worked to secure her the first full-time position that became available. Sitting for the civil service exam, she outscored all other applicants and, in 1936, became the second woman hired by the Bureau of Fisheries for a full-time professional position, as a junior aquatic biologist. In July 1937, the *Atlantic Monthly* accepted a revised version of an essay, *The World of Waters*, that she originally wrote for her first fisheries bureau brochure. Her supervisor had deemed it too good for that purpose. The essay, published as *Undersea*, was a vivid narrative of a journey along the ocean floor. It marked a major turning point in Carson's writing career. Publishing house Simon & Schuster, impressed by *Undersea*, contacted Carson and suggested that she expand it into a book. Several years of writing resulted in *Under the Sea Wind* (1941), which received excellent reviews but sold poorly. Carson rose within the Fish and Wildlife Service, and in 1945 was supervising a small writing staff. In 1949, she was appointed chief editor of publications. By 1948, Carson was working on material for a second book and decided to begin a transition to writing full-time. That year, she took on a literary agent, Marie Rodell; they formed a close professional relationship that would last the rest of Carson's career. Oxford University Press expressed interest in Carson's book proposal for a life history of the ocean, spurring her to complete by early 1950 the manuscript of what would become *The Sea Around Us*. Chapters appeared in *Science Digest* and *The Yale Review*, which published a chapter, 'The Birth of an Island,' which won the American Association for the Advancement of Science's George Westinghouse Science Writing Prize. Beginning in June 1951, nine chapters were serialized in *The New Yorker*. On July 2, 1951, the book was published by Oxford University Press. *The Sea Around Us* remained on *The New York Times* Bestseller List for 86 weeks, was abridged by *Reader's Digest*, won the 1952 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the John Burroughs Medal, and resulted in Carson being awarded two honorary doctorates. She licensed a documentary film based on it, *The Sea*, whose success led to republication of *Under the Sea Wind*, which became a bestseller. With success came financial security; in 1952, Carson was able to give up her job in order to concentrate on writing full-time. Carson was very unhappy with the final version of the script by writer, director, and producer Irwin Allen; she found it untrue to the atmosphere of the book and scientifically embarrassing, describing it as 'a cross between a believe-it-or-not and a breezy travelogue.' However, she discovered that her right to review the script did not extend to any control over its content. This led to many scientific inconsistencies inside the film. Despite Carson's requests to resolve these problems, Allen went forward with the script. He succeeded in producing a very successful documentary. It went on to win the 1953 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. However, Carson was so embittered by the experience that she never again sold film rights to her work. Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some problems she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was the book *Silent Spring* (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although *Silent Spring* was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides. It also inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

Reader's Guide

Rachel Carson's significance lies in her role as a catalyst for the modern environmental movement. Her sea trilogy, comprising *Under the Sea Wind* (1941), *The Sea Around Us* (1951), and *The Edge of the Sea* (1955), explored ocean life from shores to depths and advanced marine conservation. However, her most impactful work was *Silent Spring* (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Despite fierce opposition from chemical companies, the book spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, leading to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides. This inspired a grassroots environmental movement that resulted in the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter. Her legacy endures as a foundational figure in environmental advocacy, demonstrating the power of scientific writing to effect policy change.

Did You Know?

• Carson began writing stories at age eight and had her first story published at age ten.
• She graduated high school in 1925 at the top of her class of 44 students.
• In 1936, she became the second woman hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries for a full-time professional position.
• Her essay 'Undersea,' published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1937, was originally deemed 'too good' for a fisheries bureau brochure by her supervisor.
• Carson described the final script of the documentary film *The Sea* as 'a cross between a believe-it-or-not and a breezy travelogue.'