Ruth Ella Moore (1903-1994)

March 12, 2007

/ Contributed By: Sara Diaz

Ruth Ella Moore

Born in 1903 in Columbus, Ohio, Ruth Ella Moore was the first African American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in the natural sciences. Her doctorate was in the field of bacteriology. Moore earned a B.S. in 1926 and a M.S. in 1927 from Ohio State University.

Moore supported herself during graduate school by teaching English and hygiene at Tennessee State College (now Tennessee State University) in Nashville. Her dissertation on tuberculosis earned her a doctorate in bacteriology in 1933, also from Ohio State University. Dr. Moore was hired as an assistant professor at Howard University Medical College in 1940. From 1952 to 1957 she chaired the bacteriology department. During that period she was promoted to associate professor. In 1957 Moore stepped down from her leadership position. Though there are gaps in Howard’s personnel records, it is generally believed that Moore continued to teach and conduct research on bacteriology at Howard until she retired in 1973. Her research at Howard focused on blood groups and enterobacteriaceae, a family of bacteria which includes salmonella and E. coli.

About the Author

Author Profile

Sara Diaz

Sara Diaz holds a B.A. in chemistry and Spanish language and literature from Whitman College. She worked for several years in the biotechnology industry as an engineer before pursuing her graduate studies at the University of Washington. In 2007, she earned her M.A. in the history of science and twentieth-century U.S. history. Diaz is holds a Bank of America Endowed Minority Fellowship through the UW Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Women Studies. In her research Diaz examines the strategies and struggles women scientists of color. Her interests include scientists of color, science education; and the social study of the institution of science with respect to race, gender, sexuality, and power. Diaz is a member of the Diversity Committee of the Student Section of the Society for the Social Studies of Science (4s) and serves as the Graduate and Professional Student Senate representative to the Faculty Council on Multicultural Affairs. She is also a participant in the University of Washington Science Studies Network and the Sloan Social Science Research Group.

Categories:
African American History People in African American History

Tags:
20th Century (1900-1999) Education - Historically Black Colleges (HBCU) Gender - Women Occupation-Educator STEM - Biology United States - Ohio United States - Tennessee United States-Washington D.C

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CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Diaz, S. (2007, March 12). Ruth Ella Moore (1903-1994). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/moore-ruth-ella-moore-1903-1994/

Source of the Author's Information:

Wini Warren, “Ruth Ella Moore: First Black Woman to Hold an Earned Natural Science Ph.D.,” in Black Women Scientists in the United States (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1999); https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/ruth_moore.html.