Rachel Carson was a biologist and zoologist who authored the book Silent Spring. In 1929, Carson graduated from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, and earned a master's degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins Univeristy in 1932. In 1936, Carson became the second woman to ever be hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries as a full-time biologist.

Carson was an excellent writer and published several articles in the journal Undersea. In 1941, Carson published her first book, Under the Sea-Wind. The New Yorker published parts of her second book in a series of essays labeled Profiles of the Sea in 1951. The entire book was published soon after and remained on the New York Times Best Sellers List for 86 weeks. In 1962, Carson wrote Silent Spring. The book detailed the harmful relationships between pesticides such as DDT and mass wildlife kills. The book was brilliantly written and contained powerful and provoking descriptions of vanishing wildife. Many chemical companies attacked Carson's credentials and even tried to prevent the book from being published. Nevertheless, it became an instant best seller and caused people and organizations throughout the world to call for reforms. Many people credit Rachel Carson with bringing about the modern day environmental movement. In 1972, ten years after Silent Spring was published, the United States banned DDT.