Alice Catherine Evans
Personal Information
Born: 1881
Died: 1975
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Susquehanna Collegiate Institute; Cornell University BS Bacteriology 1909; University of Wisconsin-Madison MS 1910
Professional Life
Field of Study: Microbiology
Institution/Corporation: US Dept of Agriculture; US Public Health Services
Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degree: Women s Medical College of Pennsylvania (1934), University of Wisconsin-Madison (1936), Wilson College (1936); Member: National Research Council s Committe on Infectious Abortion, Society of American Bacteriologists, Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, Honorary President Inter-American Committee on Brucellosis (1945-57),American Society for Microbiology (1975)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1983, Alice C. Evans Award established by American Society for Microbiology; 1993, National Women s Hall of Fame; 2020, Bacterium Enemelia evansiae named for her
Achievements: Her bacteria research played a pivotal role in the recognition of brucellosis as a public health problem & the need to pasteurize milk; worked on a team at NIH to improve the serum treatment for epidemic meningitis; 1st woman to receive a bacteriology scholarship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; 1st woman to hold a permanent position as a USDA bacteriologist; also studied Spanish flu & Strptococcus; 1st woman president of the Society of American Bacteriologists
Her discovery of the organisms that cause undulant fever led to laws mandating the pasteurization of milk
1st female scientist to hold a permanent position as a USDA bacteriologist
Learned German in order to read research papers in their original language
1st female president of the Society of American Bacteriologists
Attended a 0ne-room schoolhouse in Pennsylvania
She & her brother Morgan survived scarlet fever as children
Played on a woman's basketball team & at one game a doctor refused to treat her dislocated finger because she had participated in an unladylike sport
Taught for 4 years but hated it
Took classes at Cornell University for her BS & worked as a housekeeper & clerical assistant; her nickname was "The Grind"
1st female recipient of a bacteriology scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her MS