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Oral history interview with Mary K. Gall

  • 2012-Mar-26 (First session)
  • 2012-Mar-27 (Second session)

Oral history interview with Mary K. Gall

  • 2012-Mar-26 (First session)
  • 2012-Mar-27 (Second session)

Mary K. Gall matriculated at Vassar College. Originally she was interesed in bacteriology, but she decided to major in chemistry. She felt she did not have enough 'drive' for medical school, and she always wanted to be a lab person, not an academic, a view confirmed by jobs she was given in the chemistry lab. During the interview Gall discusses changes she has seen in the chemistry field, particulary, and in science generally, especially changes for women. She highlights the need for a PhD and tenure obstacles for women.

Property Value
Interviewee
Interviewer
Place of interview
Format
Genre
Extent
  • 71 pages
Language
Subject
Rights Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Rights holder
  • Science History Institute
Credit line
  • Courtesy of Science History Institute

About the Interviewer

Hilary Domush was a Program Associate in the Center for Oral History at CHF from 2007–2015. Previously, she earned a BS in chemistry from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 2003.  She then completed an MS in chemistry and an MA in history of science both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Her graduate work in the history of science focused on early nineteenth-century chemistry in the city of Edinburgh, while her work in the chemistry was in a total synthesis laboratory.  At CHF, she worked on projects such as the Pew Biomedical Scholars, Women in Chemistry, Atmospheric Science, and Catalysis.

Institutional location

Department
Collection
Oral history number 0695

Related Items

Interviewee biographical information

Born
  • August 24, 1922
  • New York City, New York, United States
Died
  • February 11, 2017
  • Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, United States

Professional Experience

Hayden Chemicals

University of Pennsylvania. School of Medicine

McNeil Laboratories

Rohm and Haas Company

Mobil Research Laboratories

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Complete transcript of interview

PDF — 527 KB
gall_mk_0695_FULL.pdf

The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.

Complete Interview Audio File Web-quality download

4 Separate Interview Segments Archival-quality downloads