Mary Peters Fieser
Encyclopedia
Mary Peters Fieser was an American
chemist
best known for the many books she wrote with her husband Louis Fieser
.
She was born Mary Peters in 1909 in Atchison, Kansas
. Her father, Robert Peters, was a college professor of English: the family later moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
, when he accepted a position at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
(now Carnegie Mellon University
). Mary and her sister Ruth were educated in a private girls’ high school, and both went on to study at Bryn Mawr College
. Mary graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1930 with a B.A. in chemistry.
It was at Bryn Mawr that Mary Peters met her future husband, a professor of chemistry who became her mentor. When Louis Fieser left Bryn Mawr in 1930 to join the faculty at Harvard University
, Mary Peters decided to follow him and pursue an advanced degree in chemistry. She had to officially enroll at nearby Radcliffe College
in order to take chemistry courses at Harvard and could not escape the gender discrimination of her era. One professor of analytical chemistry
in particular, Gregory Baxter, would not allow her in the laboratory with the male students: rather, she had to carry out her experiments (without supervision) in the deserted basement of a nearby building. She was awarded a Radcliffe M.A. in chemistry in 1936, but decided not to pursue a Ph.D.: "I could see I was not going to get along well on my own, [but as Mrs. Fieser] I could do as much chemistry as I wanted."
Mary Peters married in her mentor in 1932, and their scientific collaboration would continue until Louis Fieser's death in 1977. Their early research together focused on the chemistry of quinone
s and steroid
s, and they developed syntheses of Vitamin K
, cortisone
, and the antimalarial compound lapinone. However the Fiesers were best known for their numerous books. Their first joint textbook, Organic Chemistry (1944), became very successful and influential on both sides of the Atlantic because of the originality in the presentation of the material, and went through many editions. In 1967 the Fiesers began to publish Reagents for Organic Synthesis and produced six volumes before Louis Fieser's death: Mary continued the project with collaborators. They also published a Style Guide for Chemists in 1959, as well as a seminal monograph on Steroids the same year.
Mary Fieser never had a paid position at Harvard, although she received the title of Research Fellow of Chemistry about twenty-nine years after she began work there. She was awarded the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society
in 1971, and the Louis and Mary Fieser Laboratory for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry at Harvard University is named after her and her husband.
Mary Fieser died on March 22, 1997, in Belmont, Massachusetts
. She never had children, but was always surrounded by cats, illustrations of which found their way into the prefaces of many of her books.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
best known for the many books she wrote with her husband Louis Fieser
Louis Fieser
Louis Frederick Fieser was an organic chemist, professor, and in 1968, professor emeritus at Harvard University. He was renowned as the inventor, in 1943, of a militarily effective form of napalm...
.
She was born Mary Peters in 1909 in Atchison, Kansas
Atchison, Kansas
Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...
. Her father, Robert Peters, was a college professor of English: the family later moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, when he accepted a position at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
Carnegie Institute of Technology
The Carnegie Institute of Technology , is the name for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. It was first called the Carnegie Technical Schools, or Carnegie Tech, when it was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie who intended to build a “first class technical school” in Pittsburgh,...
(now Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
). Mary and her sister Ruth were educated in a private girls’ high school, and both went on to study at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
. Mary graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1930 with a B.A. in chemistry.
It was at Bryn Mawr that Mary Peters met her future husband, a professor of chemistry who became her mentor. When Louis Fieser left Bryn Mawr in 1930 to join the faculty at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Mary Peters decided to follow him and pursue an advanced degree in chemistry. She had to officially enroll at nearby Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
in order to take chemistry courses at Harvard and could not escape the gender discrimination of her era. One professor of analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...
in particular, Gregory Baxter, would not allow her in the laboratory with the male students: rather, she had to carry out her experiments (without supervision) in the deserted basement of a nearby building. She was awarded a Radcliffe M.A. in chemistry in 1936, but decided not to pursue a Ph.D.: "I could see I was not going to get along well on my own, [but as Mrs. Fieser] I could do as much chemistry as I wanted."
Mary Peters married in her mentor in 1932, and their scientific collaboration would continue until Louis Fieser's death in 1977. Their early research together focused on the chemistry of quinone
Quinone
A quinone is a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds [such as benzene or naphthalene] by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C– groups with any necessary rearrangement of double bonds," resulting in "a fully conjugated cyclic dione structure."...
s and steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...
s, and they developed syntheses of Vitamin K
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat soluble vitamins that are needed for the posttranslational modification of certain proteins required for blood coagulation and in metabolic pathways in bone and other tissue. They are 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives...
, cortisone
Cortisone
Cortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...
, and the antimalarial compound lapinone. However the Fiesers were best known for their numerous books. Their first joint textbook, Organic Chemistry (1944), became very successful and influential on both sides of the Atlantic because of the originality in the presentation of the material, and went through many editions. In 1967 the Fiesers began to publish Reagents for Organic Synthesis and produced six volumes before Louis Fieser's death: Mary continued the project with collaborators. They also published a Style Guide for Chemists in 1959, as well as a seminal monograph on Steroids the same year.
Mary Fieser never had a paid position at Harvard, although she received the title of Research Fellow of Chemistry about twenty-nine years after she began work there. She was awarded the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
in 1971, and the Louis and Mary Fieser Laboratory for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry at Harvard University is named after her and her husband.
Mary Fieser died on March 22, 1997, in Belmont, Massachusetts
Belmont, Massachusetts
Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census.- History :Belmont was founded on March 18, 1859 by former citizens of, and land from the bordering towns of Watertown, to the south; Waltham, to the west; and Arlington, then...
. She never had children, but was always surrounded by cats, illustrations of which found their way into the prefaces of many of her books.