- Elsie Widdowson
Dr Elsie Widdowson (
1908 -June 14 2000 ,Cambridge ,England ), was a Britishscientist responsible for overseaing the government mandated addition of vitamins to food and war-time rationing in Britain during World War II.She graduated with a PhD in chemistry from
Imperial College, London in 1928; her thesis was on the carbohydrate content of apples. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6228307.stm] /]Elsie Widdowson and her scientific partner,
Robert McCance , headed the first mandated addition of vitamins and mineral to food. Their work began in the early 1940s, when calcium was added to bread. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6228307.stm BBC NEWS | Health | Elsie - mother of the modern loaf ] ] The two were also responsible for formulating the war-time rationing of Britain during World War II. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6228307.stm BBC NEWS | Health | Elsie - mother of the modern loaf ] ]She coauthored "The Chemical Composition of Foods" in 1940 with Professor McCance. Their work became known the basis for modern nutritional thinking.
She was made a member of the
Order of the Companions of Honour in 1933, which is awarded for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry, or religion.She was the sister of
Eva Crane , who was trained as a nuclear physicist but became a world renowned authority on bees.References
External links
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000616/ai_n14303624 Obituary through Findarticles.com]
* [http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P2505.htm Imperial College]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.