Rachel Carson: Chronology of Events Leading to the Writing of Silent Spring

1945

  • July 15--Wrote letter to Reader's Digest proposing an article about DDT's effects on nature. Letter rejected.

1957

  • Adopted her grandnephew, Roger Christie, after the death of his mother.

May 1957

  • Long Island case in which counties were suing to stop the government from spraying their land.

1958

  • January--Olga Huckins wrote a letter to Carson describing the detrimental effects of pesticides on her bird sanctuary.
  • Stopped Reader's Digest from publishing pesticide article about beneficial aerial spraying.
  • February 7--E.B. White suggested she write the magazine article about the Long Island case.
  • February--Decided to write a magazine article, possibly a brief book.
  • December--Mother died.

1959

  • Hired Jeanne Davis as an assistant.

1960

  • Spring--Learned she had malignant cancer.

1962

  • June 16--New Yorker publishes first of series of excerpts from Silent Spring.
  • Fall--Silent Spring published.
Cite this page: "Rachel Carson: Chronology of Events Leading to the Writing of Silent Spring" Online Ethics Center for Engineering 7/6/2006 12:26:58 AM National Academy of Engineering Accessed: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 <www.onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/carsonindex/chronology.aspx>


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