Mary Engle Pennington was born in Nashville, Tennessee
to Henry and Sarah B. Pennington on October 8th, 1872. A few years after she was born, her family
moved to Philadelphia
to be closer to her Mother's relatives. Henry Pennington established a
successful business in label manufacturing, and the family lived in a three
story red brick house near the University
of Pennsylvania. Mary
enjoyed gardening, a hobby of her fathers, and reading. When Mary was 12 years old she came across a
book on medical chemistry and was intrigued, but when she tried to pursue this
interest at the boarding school she attended, she was told that such a subject
was inappropriate for a woman.
After graduating from the boarding school at 18, Mary
Pennington was still interested in Chemistry and was accepted to the Towne Scientific
School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mary studied Chemistry and Biology, and completed the requirements necessary
for a bachelor's degree within two years. However, the board of trustees
disapproved of a woman's presence at the university and refused to grant a
diploma. Instead, Mary received a certificate of proficiency in biology.
Mary was unable to apply for graduate studies because she
did not hold a bachelor's degree; however, the faculty managed to use a little
known University of Pennsylvania statute to allow her to become a
doctoral student in the Electrochemical
School. Mary Pennington was awarded her Ph.D. in 1895,
and stayed on two more years to study chemical botany before accepting a
one-year fellowship at Yale
University to study
physiological chemistry. In 1898 she accepted a position as director of the
Clinical Laboratory at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, while also
working as a bacteriologist for the Philadelphia Bureau of Health. During this
time, Mary Pennington developed procedures for farmers for the handling and
storage of milk.
In 1905, Mary Pennington started working with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a bacteriological chemist, and in 1907 she joined
the staff after passing a civil service exam. In 1908 she was named director of
the Food Research Laboratory, a new division of the Bureau of Chemistry created
by the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. As
director, she developed a thorough procedure for slaughtering, packaging,
shipping, and delivering poultry, eggs, and other perishable foods.
In 1919, Pennington was hired as director of America Balsa,
a refrigerator company.  Considered an
expert in the field of perishable food, she started a consulting firm in 1922
which she ran till she retired in 1952.
Mary Pennington made numerous contributions to the designs and
advancements in home and commercial refrigeration units as well as the best way
to freeze foods.
Mary Pennington received the Notable Service Medal in 1919,
and in 1940 she received the Garvan Medal.
In 2002, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Mary Pennington died December 27th, 1952 in New York.
References
http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCEWWW/Features/eChemists/Bios/pennington.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/mary-engle-pennington
http://www.madehow.com/inventorbios/85/Mary-Engle-Pennington.html
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/mary-engle-pennington-woc/
http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/inventors/pennington.html
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