Marie Maynard Daly
| Marie Maynard Daly | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
April 16, 1921 Corona, Queens, New York City |
| Died | October 28, 2003 (aged 82) New York City |
| Other names | Marie Maynard Daly Clark |
| Residence | New York City |
| Citizenship | American |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions |
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| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | A Study of the Products Formed by the Action of Pancreatic Amylase on Corn Starch (1947) |
| Doctoral advisor | Mary Letitia Caldwell |
| Spouse | Vincent Clark |
Marie Maynard Daly (April 16, 1921 – October 28, 2003) was an American biochemist. She was the first Black American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry (awarded by Columbia University in 1947).
Daly's father, Ivan C. Daly, had immigrated from the British West Indies, found work as a postal clerk, and eventually married Helen Page of Washington, D.C. They lived in New York City, and Daly was born and raised in Corona, Queens. She often visited her maternal grandparents in Washington, where she was able to read about scientists and their achievements in her grandfather’s extensive library. She was especially impressed by Paul de Kruif’s The Microbe Hunters, a work which partially influenced her decision to become a scientist.
Daly’s interest in science was also influenced by her father, who had attended Cornell University with intentions of becoming a chemist, but had been unable to complete his education due to a lack of funds. His daughter continued her father’s legacy by majoring in chemistry. Many years later, she started a Queens College scholarship fund in his honor to assist minority students majoring in chemistry or physics.
After Daly graduated from all-girls Hunter College High School (where she was also encouraged to pursue chemistry), she enrolled in Queens College, a small, fairly new school in Flushing, New York. She lived at home to save money and graduated from Queens magna cum laude with her bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1942. Upon graduation, she was named a Queens College Scholar, an honor that is given to the top 2.5% of the graduating class.
Daly received a graduate fellowship from Queens College to attend New York University and for one year worked as a laboratory assistant at Queens College while studying at New York University for her master's degree in chemistry, which she completed in 1943. She then became a chemistry tutor at Queens College and enrolled in the doctoral program at Columbia University, where she was supervised by Dr. Mary L. Caldwell. Caldwell, who had a doctorate in nutrition, helped Daly discover how chemicals produced in the body contribute to food digestion. Daly completed a thesis entitled "A Study of the Products Formed By the Action of Pancreatic Amylase on Corn Starch" to earn her Ph.D. in chemistry in 1947.
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