1960's Medicine and Health | Kelsey, Dr. Frances Oldham 1914-

PHARMACOLOGIST

A Singular Contribution.

Pharmacologist Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey is credited with single-handedly preventing an outbreak of drug-related birth defects by denying approval for the distribution of thalidomide in the United States. She did so in spite of pressure and attacks claiming that she was keeping a beneficial product from potential users.

Extensive Experience.

Kelsey was born on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and studied at McGill University in Montreal before attending the University of Chicago, where she earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1938. She taught there and in South Dakota, where she earned her M.D. in 1950. She became an American citizen in 1956. In 1960 she moved with her husband to Washington, D.C., where she joined the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Her new job was to screen applications from pharmaceutical companies...