Ruth Ella Moore

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Ruth Ella Moore
Photograph of Ruth Ella Moore
Ruth Ella Moore
Born(1903-05-19)May 19, 1903
Columbus, Ohio
DiedJuly 19, 1994
Rockville, Maryland
Alma mater
Known for
Scientific career
InstitutionsHoward University

Ruth Ella Moore (May 19, 1903 in Columbus, Ohio[1] – July 19, 1994) was a bacteriologist and microbiologist, who in 1933, became the first African-American woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in a natural science.[2] She was a professor of bacteriology at Howard University. A decade later, she was installed as the head of the department of bacteriology, which she renamed to the department of microbiology. During that period she was promoted to associate professor of microbiology.

She published her research on tuberculosis, immunology, dental caries, the response of gut microorganisms to antibiotics, and the blood types of African-Americans.

Although there are gaps in the official personnel records of the university, Moore is believed to have continued to teach and conduct her research at Howard until 1973, after which she held the position of associate professor emeritus of microbiology until 1990.

Moore also gained recognition as a fashion designer.

Early life and education[]

Ruth Ella Moore was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Margaret Moore and Willian E. Moore on May 19, 1903. She had two older brothers, Donovan L. Moore and William E. Moore.[3] Her mother was a successful artist. As a graduate of Columbus State College of Art and Design, she always encouraged Ruth to strive for a college degree and beyond.[3]

Moore attended Ohio State University for both her undergraduate and graduate education. She earned her bachelor of science degree in 1925, her master of science degree in 1927, and she was awarded her Ph.D. in bacteriology in 1933 from the university.[4] Her dissertations were on the tuberculosis bacteria and they were entitled, "Studies on Dissociation of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis" and "A New Method of Concentration on the Tubercule Bacilli as Applied to Sputum And Urine Examination".[5]

Career[]

During graduate school at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ruth Ella Moore taught at the college that now is known as Tennessee State University, in Nashville. She taught hygiene and English.

In 1940, she became assistant professor of bacteriology at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C. In 1952, Moore became chair of the department of bacteriology. She subsequently was promoted to the position of associate professor.[6] Moore's first act as chair was to change the department name from the department of bacteriology to the department of microbiology.[7][8]

In 1957, Moore stepped down from her departmental leadership position, but continued to teach and conduct research on bacteriology at the university. Some of her research included significant contributions in the study of blood types, immunology, dental caries, and the reaction of specific pathogens to different classes of antibiotics.[7] She conducted studies on blood groups and enterobacteriacea.

Throughout her entire career she was a member of the American Public Health Association and the American Society of Microbiology.[4][9] Moore was the first African-American to join the American Society for Microbiology.[10] Moore also was a member of the American Association of Science, American Society of Immunology, the American Association of Microbiology, and the American Public Health Association.[11]

Moore also held other positions at the university, serving as chair of the scholarship and loans committee, as well as, chair of the student guidance committee.[6] She retired from teaching at Howard University in 1973 and held the position of the associate professor emeritus of microbiology until 1990.[12]

Publications[]

Moore's research was published in a wide variety of professional journals and publications, from the Journal of the American Medical Association to the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. They include a 1938 discussion of the immunology of dental caries.[13] Her publications in the 1950s were on blood types among African Americans.[14][15]

In 1963 she published research on the sensitivity of gut microorganisms to antibiotics.[16] The 1963 publication studied gut isolated microbes of the Death's Head Cockroach by isolating pure cultures from the cockroach gut and culturing them on trypticase soy agar.[8] Moore later tested the cultures for antimicrobial susceptibility and antibiotic resistance by placing disks containing antibiotics at various concentrations on the plates.[8] After incubation, Moore considered the bacteria sensitive to the antibiotic if there was a zone of inhibition present around the disk and, as resistant to the antibiotic if there was no zone of inhibition around the disk.[8]

Research into blood types[]

In some of her earlier work, Moore did research on the distribution and differences in blood types between American Blacks and American Whites. She based her study on the works of L. and H. Hirschfeld, Landsteiner, Wiener, Levine, Belkins and Sonn, Neal and Hanig, and Matson.[17] Moore's study took place at Howard University College of Medicine. The university population included African Americans from throughout the United States. With few exemptions in the states represented, this diversity made her participants a random sample for Blacks in the nation.[17] Moore's study was used for a teaching program. It was conducted by pricking the fingers of participants to collect blood samples and using macroscopic and microscopic processes to observe the blood samples that were collected.[17] Moore's experiment was split into three series, the first two series determined ABO blood types and the third series was used to determine the subgroups of ABO that are MN and Rh.[17]

Throughout Moore's research she compared her results to that of the scientists who preceded her, such as Landsteiner and Weiner, who discovered the Rh factor in human blood.[17] When concluding her experiment, she was able to determine that the results from her MN study did not fully correspond with the results of the former experimenter, but her investigation into Rh types did correspond with that of the previous experimenter.[17] Comparison of her results to those of the other experiments suggested that Rh blood types might be a good starting ground for studying and building a foundation of knowledge about different racial backgrounds.

Beyond Moore's study of Rh and MN blood types, she also discovered in a group of 2496 African Americans, that 51.94% of them were in Group O, 17.32% in Group B, only 27.3% were in Group A, and 3.01% in AB. That data corresponded with an earlier experiment in physical anthropology whose results demonstrated the types O and B were more prominent in African Americans than the other blood types.[17]

Honors[]

Moore is believed to be the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences, which she received from Ohio State University.[18][19] Additionally, she was awarded two honorary degrees during her career, a doctorate in literature from Oberlin College and, in 1973, a doctor of philosophy from Gettysburg College.[20]

Moore received the Centennial Award for Distinguished Alumni from Ohio State University.[6]

In 2005, U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson introduced a congressional bill recognizing the work of Ruth Ella Moore along with that of other scientists in the United States.[21]

Lifetime passion for fashion design[]

Besides being a well-known scientist with a passion for her professional work, Moore was a talented seamstress and her passion for fashion design was evident throughout her life. Her mother shared the same talent and interest.

She loved elegant, classic styles of clothing and designed and constructed her own garments for most occasions, from day to evening wear, and from tailored to draped components.[3] Her love for fashion definitely showed in the pieces she wore daily.

Several garments designed by Moore were featured in works such as The Sewer's Art: Quality, Fashion, and Economy in 2009. Some of her most notable creations include a two-piece suit composed of an off-white jacket and a black skirt, a long velvet dress, and a taffeta dress that was floor-length and covered in flowers of many colors.[3] The HCTC's Sports & Fashion has one of Moore's swimsuits on display, but due to the lack of labels and dates from the 1930s, no one is sure whether she made it or purchased the stylish garment.[3]

Death[]

Ruth Ella Moore died at the age of 91 on July 19, 1994 in Rockville, Maryland.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "American Society for Microbiology". Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  2. ^ Warren, Wini (1999). Black women scientists in the United States. Bloomington, Ind. [u.a.]: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253336033.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Black History Month: Ruth Ella Moore | Clothes Lines". u.osu.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  4. ^ a b "African-American Physicians are key figures in black and medical history". ProQuest 368185306. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Ruth Ella Moore-Bacteriologist-UCI webfiles". The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences.
  6. ^ a b c Whitaker, Rachel J.; Barton, Hazel A. (2018). Women in microbiology. Washington, DC. ISBN 978-1-55581-954-5. OCLC 1029076528.
  7. ^ a b Mitchell, Erica. "American Medical Hero: Dr. Ruth E. Moore". blog.eoscu.com. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  8. ^ a b c d "Meet Microbiologist Ruth Ella Moore, the First Black Woman to Earn a PhD in the Natural Sciences". The Microbial Menagerie. 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  9. ^ Gross, Victoria (January 13, 2016). "History of Black Scientists: Ruth Ella Moore & James McCune Smith". Communities.
  10. ^ "Her Story: Ruth Ella Moore". She Made History. 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  11. ^ "Dr. Ruth Ella Moore, the first Black female natural scientist". amsterdamnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  12. ^ Erickson, Tresa (17 February 2003). "African-American women in science". Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi). Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  13. ^ Moore, Ruth E (1938). "Discussion - The Immunology of Dental Caries". The Dentoscope: Journal of the Howard University College of Dentistry. 18 (1): Article 2. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  14. ^ Moore, RE (March 1955). "Distribution of blood factors, ABO, MN and Rh in a group of American Negroes". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 13 (1): 121–8. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330130109. PMID 14361661.
  15. ^ MOORE, RE (16 February 1957). "Occurrence of Rh antigen V in a group of American Negroes". Journal of the American Medical Association. 163 (7): 544–5. doi:10.1001/jama.1957.82970420002008a. PMID 13398302.
  16. ^ Briscoe, M. S.; Moore, Ruth E.; Puckett, Dewey E. (December 1963). "The Sensitivity to Antibiotics of Microorganisms Isolated from the Gut of "Blaberus caniifer" Burmeister". AIBS Bulletin. 13 (6): 27. doi:10.2307/1293031. JSTOR 1293031.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g Moore, Ruth E. (1955). "Distribution of blood factors, ABO, MN and Rh in a group of American Negroes". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 13 (1): 121–128. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330130109. ISSN 1096-8644. PMID 14361661.
  18. ^ Jordan, Diann (2007). Sisters in science : conversations with black women scientists about race, gender, and their passion for science. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1557534453.
  19. ^ "Moore, Ruth Ella (1903–1994)". BlackPast.org. 2007-03-12.
  20. ^ "Black History Month: Ruth Ella Moore | Clothes Lines". u.osu.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  21. ^ US Senate and Congress concurrently (2005-04-27). "H.Con.Res.96 — 109th Congress (2005-2006)". U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
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