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Did you know that Mary Engle Pennington was born today in 1872? She was a bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer. The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act worked to improve the safety of the food supply. Mary Engle Pennington researched and became a leading expert on how to safely process and ship perishable foods such as produce, dairy, eggs, and meat and how to safely store these foods commercially and at home. Her research showed that keeping perishable foods at consistently low temperatures decreased the growth of bacteria that contaminated food. Mary Engle Pennington also studied and supervised the design of refrigerated train cars, warehouses, and home refrigerators.
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Bonus Facts:
Mary Engle Pennington studied at the University of Pennsylvania. She would have received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry with minors in botany and zoology. However, at the time, the University of Pennsylvania did not award degrees to women, so she was granted a ‘certificate of proficiency’. Later, she returned and earned a PhD.
Mary Engle Pennington was the first female lab chief in what became the FDA. As she had work experience and expertise with researching food safety and cold storage, Harvey Wiley, the director of the Bureau of Chemistry, asked her to apply for the position of Chief of the Food Research Laboratory. She took the Civil Service exam and received a top score. Wiley knew that there might be issues because of her gender and processed the hiring request just using her initials instead of first and middle name. When the issue of her gender came up, Wiley argued that the law did not forbid him from hiring her because of her gender.
Mary Engle Pennington received a patent for an all-metal poultry cooling rack.
Mary Engle Pennington received the Garvan-Olin Medal, one of the highest awards given to women by the American Chemical Society. She is also honored in the National Women’s Hall of Fame, Poultry Historical Society Hall of Fame, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.