chemistry

Marguerite Davis

Marguerite Davis is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Marguerite Davis rather than just read about it. In short: Marguerite Davis (September 16, 1887 – September 19, 1967) was an American biochemist, co-discoverer of vitamins A and B with Elmer Verner McCollum in 1913. Their research greatly influenced later research on nutrition.

Key takeaways

Marguerite Davis belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Marguerite Davis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Marguerite Davis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Marguerite Davis (September 16, 1887 – September 19, 1967) was an American biochemist, co-discoverer of vitamins A and B with Elmer Verner McCollum in 1913. Their research greatly influenced later research on nutrition.

Early life Davis was born on September 16, 1887, in Racine, Wisconsin, to John Jefferson Davis, a local physician and botanist, who taught at the University of Wisconsin. In his 1964 autobiography, Elmer Verner McCollum says that Davis was physically handicapped by severe burns that she received at age ten while playing at a bonfire when her clothing caught fire.

Education Davis' background and scientific interests led her to enroll at the University of Wisconsin in 1906. In 1908, she transferred to the University of California at Berkeley and received her bachelor of science degree in home economics in 1910. After graduation, Davis returned to the University of Wisconsin where she completed some graduate work, but did not complete a master's degree. At the University of Wisconsin, Davis began her work as a research assistant with McCollum.

Discovery of vitamins A and B Davis worked as an assistant for McCollum, caring for a large rat colony and helping expand it. Davis helped McCollum carry out "ten or more times as many experiments as [he] alone could manage". They were attempting to create mixtures that could replace food in animal diets, specifically studying trace chemicals in foods that are essential to life. These substances were called "vitamines", as they hypothesized that they were the organic molecule "amines". In 1913, Davis and McCollum identified what they called "fat-soluble A", a substance found in fats that is essential to life. They distinguished it from another substance described by Dutch chemist Christiaan Eijkman, which they studied and called "water-soluble B." These were later renamed Vitamins A and B, after long research on rats. The discovery of two vitamins paved the way to further research in nutrition. Their discovery of fat-soluble Vitamin A and water-soluble Vitamin B was first published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 1913 in the paper "The Necessity of Certain Lipins in the Diet during Growth".

Career Davis founded the nutrition laboratories at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She briefly moved to New Jersey to work for the Squibb Pharmaceutical Company and later helped Rutgers University form a nutrition lab as part of its Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. In 1940, she returned to the University of Wisconsin to teach and do research for a number of years. In 1940, Davis retired, returning to her hometown of Racine to live with her brother, John Archibald “Archie” Davis, in their family home. Davis pursued history and gardening after her retirement, and was active in local civic affairs. She was recognized for her contributions as a civic leader by Racine's Women's Civic Council in 1958. Davis died in Racine three days after her eightieth birthday on September 19, 1967. In his 1964 autobiography, McCollum attributes his success in nutrition research to two people: Davis and Stephen Babcock. Davis worked in McCollum's lab from 1909 to 1916. McCollum asked annually for a salary for Davis, but was denied up until her last year. She was unpaid for 5 years, and was paid $600 in her sixth, and final year. After Davis left Madison, the rat colony that Davis helped build and care for was cared for by Nina Simmonds from 1916 to 1929.

Selected publications Elmer McCollum; Marguerite Davis (July 1913). "The necessity of certain lipins in the diet during growth". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 15 (1): 167–175. doi:10.1016/s0021-9258(18)88553-2. ISSN 0021-9258. Wikidata Q119290336. E.V. McCollum; Marguerite Davis (November 1915). "The nature of the dietary deficiencies of rice". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 23 (1): 181–230. doi:10.1016/s0021-9258(18)87611-6. ISSN 0021-9258. Wikidata Q119315979. E.V. McCollum; Marguerite Davis (November 1915). "The essential factors in the diet during growth". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 23 (1): 231–246. doi:10.1016/s0021-9258(18)87612-8. ISSN 0021-9258. Wikidata Q119316181. MARGUERITE DAVIS; Julia Outhouse (1 March 1921). "EFFECT OF A RATION LOW IN FAT SOLUBLE "A" ON THE TISSUES OF RATS". JAMA Pediatrics. 21 (3): 307. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1921.01910330098007. ISSN 1072-4710. Wikidata Q119317490.

Notes

External links House on the Hill - with short biography and photo of Marguerite Davis

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Marguerite Davis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Marguerite Davis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Marguerite Davis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Marguerite Davis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Marguerite Davis

In research: Marguerite Davis appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Marguerite Davis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Marguerite Davis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1887 births, 1967 deaths, 20th-century American biochemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Marguerite Davis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Marguerite Davis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Marguerite Davis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Marguerite Davis in simple terms?

Why does Marguerite Davis matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Marguerite Davis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Marguerite Davis.