Miriam Menkin

Miriam Menkin
Born
Miriam Friedman

August 8, 1901
Riga, Latvia, then part of Russian Empire
DiedJune 8, 1992 (aged 90)
Boston, Massachusetts
Resting placeBeth El Cemetery in Baker Street Jewish Cemeteries, Boston, Massachusetts
Known forIn vitro fertilization research
SpouseValy Menkin (m. 1924-1949)

Miriam Friedman Menkin (8 August 1901 – June 8, 1992), née Miriam Friedman, was an American scientist who was most famous for her in vitro fertilization (IVF) research with John Rock. In February 1944, she became the first person to conceive human life outside of the body.[1]

Menkin was born on August 8, 1901, in Riga, Latvia, and died at the age of 90 on June 8, 1992, in Boston, Massachusetts . Two years later, her family relocated to the United States. Her father was a successful doctor in New York City, allowing her family to live securely.[2] In 1922, Menkin graduated from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in histology and comparative anatomy.[3][4] She attended Columbia University for her graduate program and earned a master's degree in genetics only one year after graduating from Cornell.[2] She taught biology and physiology for a short period while setting her sights on medical school. However, women were rarely admitted to medical school at the time and she was not accepted.[2][4] Menkin married Valy Menkin, a Harvard medical student, in 1924. She still intended to earn a Ph.D. in biology, but she needed to provide financial support while her husband finished medical school. Thus, she obtained a second undergraduate degree in secretarial studies from Simmons College.[3] Menkin ended up finishing the Harvard Ph.D. requirements two separate times but did not receive a degree because she could not afford the course fees.[5]

Menkin and Valy had two children: a son named Gabriel and a daughter named Lucy.[2][4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Rodriguez, Sarah (2015-05-19). "Watching the Watch-Glass: Miriam Menkin and One Woman's Work in Reproductive Science, 1938–1952". Women's Studies. 44 (4): 451–467. doi:10.1080/00497878.2015.1013215. ISSN 0049-7878. S2CID 147058988.
  3. ^ a b Marsh, Margaret; Ronner, Wanda (2008). The Fertility Doctor: John Rock and the Reproductive Revolution. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801890017.
  4. ^ a b c Gross, Rachel E. (5 January 2020). "The female scientist who changed human fertility forever". BBC Future.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).