Her Story of Science: Frances Oldham Kelsey

I found this interesting article in the NYTimes on a women who was a pioneer in FDA regulation of medicine. Read her story here.

An excerpt:

Dr. Kelsey might never have reached the F.D.A. in the first place if her first name hadn’t sounded like a man’s.

Born in 1914 in British Columbia, Frances Kathleen Oldham was sent to a private boys’ school because her parents expected her to become as educated as her older brother. She was hired sight unseen by Dr. Eugene Geiling, a renowned pharmacology professor at the University of Chicago, because he read her name as Francis. When she got the acceptance letter, in 1936, she realized his mistake and asked a professor at McGill University whether she could accept the job.

“When a woman took a job in those days, she was made to feel as if she was depriving a man of the ability to support his wife and child,” Dr. Kelsey said in an interview at her home. “But my professor said: ‘Don’t be stupid. Accept the job, sign your name and put “Miss” in brackets afterward.’ ”