People, Locations, Episodes

Marie M. Daly, Biochemist born

Marie M. Daly

Marie Daly was born on this date in 1921. She was a Black biochemist.

From Corona, NY, Marie Maynard Daly earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Queens College in 1942 and a Master of Science from New York University in 1943.  She received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University in 1948 and was the first Black female to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry in America.  Dr. Daly was an instructor in Physical Science at Howard University from 1947 to 1948. From 1951-55, she was a Research Assistant at the Rockefeller Institute. Dr. Daly was an Associate at the Columbia University Research Service of the Goldwater Memorial Hospital from 1955-59.

Daly was appointed as Assistant Professor of Biochemistry from 1960-61. Professor Daly was appointed Assistant Professor (1960-1971) and Associate Professor (1971-1986) of Biochemistry and Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University.  Professor Daly served as an Investigator for the American Heart Association (1958-63) and a Cancer Scientist for the Health Research Council of New York (1962-72). Daly was to marry Vincent Clark.  She retired from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1986, and 1988, she established a scholarship for African American chemistry and physics majors at Queens College in memory of her father.

Professor Daly's area of research focused on nucleic acids. Dissertation Title: A Study of the Products Formed by the Action of Pancreatic Amylase on Corn Starch.  Her memberships included: the American Chemical Society, New York Academy of Science, Fellow for AAAS, Member of the Board of Governors, New York Academy of Science (1974-76), the Harvey Society, the American Society of Biological Society, also Fellow for the Council on Arteriosclerosis and The American Heart Association, NAACP, National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women, Sigma Xi. Marie Daly died on October 28, 2003.

To become a Chemist