Rachel was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the country. Her mother was a former teacher and encouraged Rachel's love for books and nature. Rachel went to College wanting to become a writer. She ended up changing her mind after she took a biology class and became a zoology major. She graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929. She then went on the get her Masters from John Hopkins University.
Carson had an interest in the sea and first started studying it at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Her experience led to her teaching position at University of Maryland and John Hopkins University. Later, she was one of the first women scientists to be hired by the U.S.Bureau of Fisheries. She wrote many articles about fisheries that were published by the Baltimore Sun. One of her later articles that was published in The Atlantic Monthly, "Undersea", got the attention of a book-editor and author. They encouraged her to write a book. Under the Sea Wind came out to the public right before the Pearl Harbor incident. It did not sell many copies, but it received very good reviews from critics.
During the war Rachel wrote several brochures and pamphlets for the government. While she was working for the government she also did research for her second book on the sea.
The Sea Around Us, was published on July 2, 1951. It was a great success and was sold out almost as fast as it could be put on the shelves. It was on the best-seller list for eighty-six weeks, and was published in 32 languages. She received the National Book Award for her work. Her background as a scientist and her love for writing made it so that she could write about the sea and bring it to life for the reader.
Her interest in the environment brought her to write about the increasing use of DDT and other poisons. In 1962 she wrote a book, Silent Spring, that described how the poisons build up in plants and animals and how they reach the rivers and endanger the wildlife. Her book caused quite a controversy. The chemical companies attacked Rachel, but she received support from other scientists and the President's Science Advisory Committee.
Two years after this influential book hit the public, Rachel Carson died.
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