Maud slye biography of christopher

American pathologist who was one of the first scientists to demonstrate that cancer is inheritable. Born Maud Caroline Slye on February 8, 1869 (some sources erroneously cite 1879), in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died of a heart attack on September 17, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois; daughter of Florence Alden (Wheeler) Slye and James Alvin Slye (a lawyer and writer); attended the University of Chicago; Brown University, B.A., 1899; never married; no children.

Likened to an American Marie Curie , pathologist Maud Slye was among the first scientists to demonstrate that cancer is inheritable.

She was born in Minneapolis in 1869, the second child of James Slye, a lawyer, and Florence Wheeler Slye , who were educated and of respectable standing but far from wealthy. Her mother hoped Maud would spend her life in the arts, as a painter or a writer—her father wrote on the side—but she chose to pursue biology, acting on her love of nature.

When the family moved to