Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson was a biologist, writer, and environmental activist. Most of Carson’s writing expressed her love of nature and concern for future generations. With language that was both poetic and compelling, she inspired people to become interested in the natural world. Her book titled, “Silent Spring” alerted the public to the dangers of using chemical pesticides carelessly. Carson’s work influenced the global environmental and conservation movements. 

Carson was born on May 27, 1907 on a farm in Springdale, Pennsylvania, she was the youngest of Robert and Maria McLean Carson’s three children. She spent her childhood exploring the hills and fields surrounding her family’s farm. She developed her love of nature from her mother, Maria McLean, who also taught her about local wildlife. Apart from her love of nature, Carson also had wanted to become a writer since childhood.

At the age of 10, she became a published writer for children’s magazines. 

In 1925, she began studying English at Pennsylvania College for Women (now known as Chatham University), later she switched to biology. Graduating with magna cum laude in 1929.

Next, she studied at the oceanographic institute at Woods Hole, Massachusetts., Carson encountered the sea for the first time; it would become the focus of much of her work.

During the 1930s, Carson studied and taught biology and zoology at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. She received a master’s degree in zoology in 1932.

Unfortunately, she could not earn enough money as a PhD student to support her family during the Great Depression; and so, with strained family finances she was forced to forego pursuit of a doctorate and help support her mother and later, two orphaned nieces.

After outscoring all other applicants on the civil service exam; In 1935, Carson became the second woman hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (now known as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service.). Her job enabled her to combine her talents as a writer and biologist. She interpreted scientific information for the public in radio programs and brochure series.

Carson remained there for 15 years, writing brochures and other materials for the public. Eventually moving up in ranks, and becoming Editor-in-Chief of all Publications for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

At the same time, Carson was publishing her own work. The sales of her first book “Under the Sea-Wind” (1941) were disappointing, her second word “The Sea Around Us” (1951) had better success. In fact, it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 86 weeks and even won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction, a national science writing-prize and a Guggenheim grant; Which, with the book’s sales, it enabled her to move to Southport Island, Maine in 1953 to concentrate on writing.

In 1955, she published “The Edge of the Sea,” another popular seller. Shortly after Carson published “The Edge of the Sea”, she received a letter from a woman named Dorothy Freeman. Freeman was a married summer resident, spending her summers on an island off the coast of Maine. After reading Carson’s book, Freeman discovered Carson had a cottage there too and decided to write to her. The women became close.

Carson and Freeman’s correspondence from 1953 to 1964 provides an intimate insight into their relationship. Each envelope they sent each other contained two letters. The first was to share with Freeman’s husband or Carson’s mother; the second was private and intended to be destroyed. In these letters, Carson expressed her appreciation for Freeman as a “Dearly loved friend” who supported her and her writing. In a 1954 letter Carson wrote: “It is quite necessary for me to know that there is someone who is deeply devoted to me as a person, and who also has the capacity and the depth of understanding to share, vicariously, the sometimes crushing burden of creative effort, recognizing the heartache, the great weariness of mind and body, the occasional black despair it may involve—someone who cherishes me and what I am trying to create, as well.”

Carson was an intensely private person. Before her death, she and Freeman destroyed about 500 of their letters. Despite this, in 1995 Freeman's granddaughter was able to publish the remaining letters in an edited collection called “Always, Rachel.”. These letters reveal how Freeman helped to sustain Carson through some of her biggest challenges.

It was in 1957, that a niece would die early 1957, leading to Carson adopting her grandnephew and relocating to Silver Spring, Maryland, to care for her mother. While also publishing “Silent Spring”

“Silent Spring” was widely considered Carson’s most influential work. It was first published in three parts in The New Yorker in June 1962 and then released as a book. Carson wrote the book at her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. “Silent Spring” warned Americans against the "indiscriminate use” of chemical pesticides, including Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).
The title referred to the threat of a world without birdsong if DDT use continued.

During WWII, chemical companies sold DDT to the military to kill lice. After the war, companies began selling it for use on farms and gardens. Carson grew concerned after reading government reports. DDT had not been tested for civilian use and seemed to be killing wildlife other than insects. Carson pitched an article about the subject to “Readers’ Digest”, but the magazine rejected her. Nearly twenty years later, is when she released “Silent Spring”.

Carson urged the government to do more extensive research into environmental issues. She wanted the public to  make a fully informed decision about health and safety. She emphasized the interconnectedness of the natural environment as a whole: “Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poison on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called ‘insecticides’ but ‘biocides.’”

“Silent Spring” sparked a national controversy over the use of pesticides. Chemical companies worried about how Carson’s writing would impact their profits and tried to discredit her; as a Communist or hysterical woman. Many pulled their ads from the CBS Reports TV special on April 3, 1963, entitled  “The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson” Still, roughly 15 million viewers tuned in, and that, combined with John F. Kennedy’s Science Advisory Committee Report (which validated Carson’s research) made pesticides a major public issue.

While writing “Silent Spring”, Carson had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her symptoms and medical treatments hindered her work on the book. She underwent multiple surgeries and radiation therapy. But. the cancer continued to spread. After the book was published, Carson kept her illness a secret from everyone but her publisher and Freeman, fearing that the chemical companies would use it against her.

Despite her deteriorating health, Carson continued to advocate for stronger environmental regulations. In 1963, she testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce. She urged them to require companies to include labels about preventing environmental damage on their products.

On April 14, 1964, Carson died in her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. Before her death, she lamented to Freeman that she would be remembered for Silent Spring, not her love of the sea. Throughout her life, Carson shared her love of the natural world with others. Her writing raised awareness about environmental issues around the world. Silent Spring became an international bestseller.

In the U.S., Carson’s work led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. Silent Spring influenced several federal conservation policies, including the ban of DDT in 1972.   In 1980, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Today, her homes are considered national historic landmarks, and various awards bear her name.