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Rachel Carson
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<p>Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American <a href="/facts/Marine_biologist/3pNR9o6L">marine biologist</a>, writer, and <a href="/facts/Conservation_movement/Vnqkdddv">conservationist</a> whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book <i><a href="/facts/Silent_Spring/NkAlvAn2">Silent Spring</a></i> (1962) are credited with advancing <a href="/facts/Marine_conservation/1YmDrFwq">marine conservation</a> and the global <a href="/facts/Environmental_movement/JSLK6Gve">environmental movement</a>. </p><p>Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the <a href="/facts/United_States_Fish_and_Wildlife_Service/kNLNl93B">U.S. Bureau of Fisheries</a>, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller <i><a href="/facts/The_Sea_Around_Us/go08XHv5">The Sea Around Us</a></i> won her a U.S. <a href="/facts/National_Book_Award/r4NzI66B">National Book Award</a>, recognition as a gifted writer and financial security. Its success prompted the republication of her first book, <i><a href="/facts/Under_the_Sea_Wind/u9pSKFrM">Under the Sea Wind</a></i> (1941), in 1952, which was followed by <i><a href="/facts/The_Edge_of_the_Sea/WAWPPC3g">The Edge of the Sea</a> </i>in 1955 — both were also bestsellers. This sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths. </p><p>Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some problems she believed were caused by synthetic <a href="/facts/Pesticide/Uhf4KnwJ">pesticides</a>. The result was the book <i>Silent Spring</i> (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although <i>Silent Spring</i> was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on <a href="/facts/DDT/RfYXlCuF">DDT</a> and other pesticides. It also inspired a <a href="/facts/Grassroots/GMw7sKCr">grassroots</a> environmental movement that led to the creation of the <a href="/facts/U.S._Environmental_Protection_Agency/ghI985SI">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a>. Carson was posthumously awarded the <a href="/facts/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom/wNtowHA6">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a> by President <a href="/facts/Jimmy_Carter/Rr4UyAVX">Jimmy Carter</a>. </p>