Portrait of Mary Engle Pennington

Birthday profile

Mary Engle Pennington

Mary Engle Pennington, American bacteriological chemist and refrigeration engineer (died 1952)

Born
October 8, 1872
Died
December 27, 1952
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1872

About Mary Engle Pennington

Mary Engle Pennington was an American bacteriological chemist, food scientist and refrigeration engineer. She was an innovator in the preservation, handling, storage, and transportation of perishable foods and the first female lab chief at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She was awarded 5 patents, received the Notable Service Medal from President Herbert Hoover, and received the Garvin-Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society. She is an inductee of the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, the National Women's Hall of Fame and the ASHRAE Hall of Fame. She was awarded 5 patents (3 of which were shared), received the Notable Service Medal from President Herbert Hoover, and received the Garvin-Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society. In 1898, she founded the Philadelphia Clinical Laboratory and conducted bacteriological analyses.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Mary Engle Pennington was born

Mary Engle Pennington was born in 1872. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1872

  • Best-selling bookAround the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineYellowstone established as first national park
  • Technology milestoneCelluloid (first plastic) manufacturing begins
  • World population~1.52B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderUlysses S. Grant
  • U.S. population40.2M

1872 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Mary Engle Pennington's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18722026
Population40.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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