Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964) was an American marine biologist and conservationist who launched the modern environmental movement.
Beginning her career at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, she became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s.
Her 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us won the National Book Award and brought her financial security and recognition.
Her sea trilogy, including The Edge of the Sea and Under the Sea Wind, explored ocean life comprehensively.
Carson's most influential work, Silent Spring (1962), exposed pesticide dangers and led to DDT bans and the creation of the EPA. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously, and numerous schools, parks, and conservation areas bear her name.
