Marie M. Daly was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. Throughout her career, her research interests focused on areas of health, particularly the effects on the heart and arteries of such factors as aging, cigarette smoking, hypertension, and cholesterol. In addition to research, she taught for fifteen years at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Marie Maynard Daly was born in Corona, Queens, a neighborhood of New York City, on April 16, 1921. Her parents, Ivan C. Daly and Helen (Page) Daly, both valued learning and education and steadily encouraged her. Her father had wanted to become a chemist and had attended Cornell University, but was unable to complete his education for financial reasons and became a postal clerk. Daly attended the local public schools in Queens and graduated from Hunter College High School in Manhattan. She credits her interest in science to...