November 5, 1970 – Death of Margaret Foster, the first chemist to work for the United States Geological Survey

He graduated from Illinois College, George Washington University, and American University with a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

In 1918, she became the first chemist to work at the United States Geological Survey, developing ways to detect minerals in natural bodies of water.

In 1942, he worked on the Manhattan Project in the Chemistry and Physics Section, under the supervision of Roger C. Wells, developing two new quantitative analysis techniques for uranium and thorium, as well as two new ways to separate the two elements.

After the war, he returned to his post at the Geological Survey and studied the chemistry of clay minerals and micas.