Mary Esther Gaulden Jagger (April 30, 1921 – September 1, 2007), known professionally as Mary Esther Gaulden, was an American radiation geneticist, professor of

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

and political activist who authored some 60 scientific publications.

Early life

Mary Esther Gaulden was the daughter of Daniel Harley Gaulden, Sr. and Virginia Carson Gaulden. She earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

Winthrop College Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina, schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, ...

, where she double-majored in

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, and later earned her doctorate in biology at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Oak Ridge

In 1949, she began working as a senior radiation biologist in the Biology Division of the

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

under

Alexander Hollaender Alexander Hollaender (9 December 1898 – 6 December 1986) was one of the world's leading researchers in radiation biology and in genetic mutations. In 1983 he was given the Enrico Fermi Award by the United States Department of Energy for his cont ...

. There, in 1956, she met

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study Biology, biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from Molecule, molecular to organismic ...

John Jagger, whom she married 19 October 1956. While working in Oak Ridge, Gaulden Jagger became locally famous as the person who "threw the rascals out" of the Anderson County Election Commission, and was also active in the county's desegregation movement, participating in drugstore and restaurant

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s alongside her husband. Gaulden was a founding member of the Radiation Research Society and the Environmental Mutagen Society and was president of the

Association of Southeastern Biologists The Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB) is a scientific professional organization in the southeastern United States focused on promoting research and education across the biological sciences. The ASB hosts an annual meeting featuring pape ...

in 1959.

UT Southwestern Medical Center

In the mid-1960s, the couple and their two young children relocated to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. Gaulden took a position as a professor of radiology at the

UT Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

, where she retired in 1992. In 1966 she was a co-founder of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

. Gaulden served on the Committee on

Toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

of the U.S. National Research Council from 1989–1999, studying (among other things) the environment on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

Awards

:* She was given a plaque by the alumni of the Dept. of Radiology, Southwestern Medical School, for the years 1967-1977. :* In 1982 she was given the Academia Award as the Best Lecturer in Genetics by the Freshman Medical School Class. :* In the nonscientific arena, she also distinguished herself. In Oak Ridge, she became locally famous as the person who "threw the rascals out" of the Anderson County Election Commission, and was also active in the desegregation movement in that county. In recognition of these activities, the Oak Ridge legal community gave her the Liberty Bell Award for 1963. :* In 1983, she was given the

Maura McNiel Maura McNiel (April 11, 1921 – July 18, 2020) was an American feminist whose actions paved the way for women's studies, modern social work, advocacy on behalf of abused women, promotion of the Equal Rights Amendment, and passage of Title IX. M ...

Award (Women Helping Women) by the Women's Center of Dallas.OB6 Obituaries, Notices, Published in Dallas Morning News on September 9, 200

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References

1921 births 2007 deaths American geneticists American radiologists Winthrop University alumni University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center faculty University of Virginia alumni Women radiologists National Organization for Women people {{US-physician-stub