Margaret D. Foster

Margaret Dorothy Foster (March 4, 1895 – November 5, 1970) was an American chemist. She worked for the United States Geological Survey, and was recruited to work on the Manhattan Project. She wrote dozens of research papers on the chemistry of the natural world and assaying methods.

Life Margaret ("Dot") Foster was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1895. Her father was the Rev. James Edward Foster and her mother was Minnie (McAuley) Foster. She had a younger brother, Robert. Her father died in 1910, at which point the family moved to Jacksonville, Illinois, home of Illinois College. She graduated from Illinois College in 1918, earned a Master of Science at George Washington University in 1926, and a PhD from American University in 1936. Methods pioneered by her include those for quantifying manganese, boron, fluoride, and sulfate, devised in connection with earning her post-baccalaureate degrees.

In 1942, during the Second World War, she transferred to the Chemistry and Physics Section of the USGS, where she worked under Roger C. Wells. as well as two new ways to separate the two elements. Over the course of her career, she authored dozens of scientific papers, alone or with others.

She died at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Publications