Marguerite Davis

Marguerite Davis was a smart scientist. She studied how food helps life.

She worked with a man named McCollum. They studied many rats. Davis helped care for the rats. She also helped with many tests.

They found two things in food. One is found in fats. The other can mix with water. These are now called vitamins.

Her work helped us learn about food. She even started a new lab. She was a great leader.

Davis lived in a place called Wisconsin. She loved to garden too.

Marguerite Davis was a famous American biochemist. A biochemist is a scientist who studies the chemistry of life.

She was born in 1887 in Wisconsin. Davis studied at the University of California at Berkeley. She also went to the University of Wisconsin. There, she worked as an assistant to Elmer Verner McCollum.

Davis and McCollum studied how food helps animals live. They cared for a large group of rats. Davis helped run many more tests than McCollum could do alone. In 1913, they found two important things in food. One was fat-soluble, which means it mixes with fat. They called this Vitamin A. The other was water-soluble, which means it mixes with water. They called this Vitamin B.

These findings changed how we think about nutrition. Davis helped start new labs for food study. She worked at Rutgers University and the University of Wisconsin. Later in life, she loved history and gardening. She died in 1967 at the age of eighty. Her work helped people understand what our bodies need to stay healthy.

Marguerite Davis was a great American biochemist. A biochemist is a scientist who studies the chemistry of life. She was born on September 16, 1887, in Racine, Wisconsin. Her father, John Jefferson Davis, was a doctor and a botanist. He taught at the University of Wisconsin. Davis grew up with a strong interest in science. This interest led her to study at the University of California at Berkeley. She earned a degree in home economics there in 1910.

Davis worked as a research assistant for Elmer Verner McCollum. They wanted to see how certain parts of food help living things grow. To do this, they studied a large colony of rats. Davis helped care for these rats and helped the group grow. She helped run many more experiments than McCollum could do by himself. They looked for tiny chemicals that were essential to life. They called these substances "vitamines" at first.

In 1913, Davis and McCollum made a huge discovery. They found a substance that is found in fats. They called this "fat-soluble A." They also studied a different substance that mixes with water. They called this "water-soluble B." These were later known as Vitamins A and B. They published their work in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 1913. Their paper was called "The Necessity of Certain Lipins in the Diet during Growth."

Davis spent many years building important science labs. She helped start the nutrition labs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She also helped form a nutrition lab at Rutgers University. She worked for the Squibb Pharmaceutical Company in New Jersey for a short time. In 1940, she returned to the University of Wisconsin to teach. She worked there for several more years before she retired.

Her work changed how we understand nutrition today. Before her research, people did not know as much about these tiny, essential parts of food. Even after she stopped her science work, she stayed busy. She enjoyed history and gardening in her hometown of Racine. In 1958, the Women's Civic Council recognized her as a civic leader. Davis lived to be eighty years old. She died on September 19, 1967.

Marguerite Davis was a pioneering American biochemist. A biochemist is a scientist who studies the chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. Her work was vital to our understanding of nutrition. She is best known for co-discovering vitamins A and B. This discovery changed how scientists look at the food required for life.

Davis was born on September 16, 1887, in Racine, Wisconsin. Her father, John Jefferson Davis, was a local physician and a botanist. He also taught at the University of Wisconsin. Growing up in this environment likely influenced her scientific path. When she was ten years old, she suffered severe burns. This happened while she was playing at a bonfire. These burns left her with a physical handicap for the rest of her life.

Her academic journey began at the University of Wisconsin in 1906. In 1908, she transferred to the University of California at Berkeley. She earned a bachelor of science degree in home economics in 1910. After graduating, she returned to the University of Wisconsin for graduate work. She did not complete a master's degree there. However, she began working as a research assistant for Elmer Verner McCollum in 1909.

Davis and McCollum focused their research on animal diets. They wanted to create food mixtures that could replace natural food. They were specifically looking for trace chemicals that are essential to life. To do this, they used a large colony of rats. Davis was responsible for caring for this colony and helping it expand. Because of her help, they performed ten or more times as many experiments as McCollum could alone. They originally called these essential substances "vitamines." This name came from their hypothesis that these substances were organic molecules called amines.

In 1913, the pair identified two distinct types of these substances. First, they found "fat-soluble A," which is a substance found in fats. They distinguished this from another substance studied by a Dutch chemist named Christiaan Eijkman. They called this second substance "water-soluble B." These findings were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 1913. The paper was titled "The Necessity of Certain Lipins in the Diet during Growth."

These discoveries were later renamed Vitamins A and B after much research on rats. This work paved the way for much more research into human and animal nutrition. Davis was highly influential in building scientific infrastructure. She founded the nutrition laboratories at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She also worked for the Squibb Pharmaceutical Company in New Jersey. Later, she helped Rutgers University form a nutrition lab within its Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.

Davis's career included significant teaching and leadership roles. In 1940, she returned to the University of Wisconsin to teach and conduct research. She remained there for several years before she retired. During her time in the lab, her compensation was often low. McCollum requested a salary for her every year, but it was denied for many years. She worked without pay for five years. In her sixth and final year of work, she was paid $600.

After retiring in 1940, Davis moved back to her hometown of Racine. She lived in the family home with her brother, John Archibald "Archie" Davis. She spent her later years pursuing interests in history and gardening. She also stayed active in local civic affairs. In 1958, the Racine Women's Civic Council recognized her as a civic leader. Davis lived to be eighty years old. She died on September 19, 1967, three days after her birthday.