Biography of mildred trotter whatever it takes

In the wake of World War II, anatomist and anthropologist Mildred Trotter left the Midwest for a temporary post as the forensic anthropology expert for the Army in the Territory of Hawaii. In the 1950s Trotter was instrumental in getting Missouri lawmakers to make it possible for people to will their bodies to medical schools for research and teaching.

was conferred by Washington University in 1980. Louis Globe-Democrat as a Woman of Achievement in science in 1955, and receiving the Viking Fund Medal in Physical Anthropology from the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research in 1956 (the first female to be so honored). Additionally, her work in skeletal biology led to the creation of formulas to estimate stature based on the lengths of long leg bones.

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For the 1925-26 academic year, Trotter accepted a National Research Council Fellowship in Physical Anthropology enabling her to study at the University of Oxford in England.

Trotter’s title became professor of Anatomy in 1958, a position she held until her mandatory retirement at the age of 68, in 1967. The honorary Sc.D. In her “retirement” Mildred Trotter audited classes at Washington University’s College of Arts and Sciences in cultural anthropology, art and music. Upon her death on August 23, 1991, her body was donated to the Washington University School of Medicine.

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Mildred Trotter (1899-1991)

Mildred Trotter, a noted anatomist and anthropologist, was born February 3, 1899 in Monaca, Pennsylvania.

Her aim was to improve stature estimates made for Americans from the lengths of long limb bones – the research resulted in new formulas for the estimation of stature that are still used today in forensic medicine. Trotter’s research interests were centered on human anatomy and physical anthropology. This includes scientific error, the historical experiences of the few women and individuals from other marginalized groups active in the discipline, sexism, and scientific and social racism.

She was a founding member of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in 1930 and served as its first female president from 1955 to 1957. After receiving her undergraduate degree in 1920, Trotter came to Washington University as a “Fellow in Hypertrichiasis” to assist in a research project on excessive hair growth.

Trotter’s interest in science and zoology was sparked by the impact of several of her undergraduate professors, most notably Ann Morgan, Elizabeth Adams, and Christianna Smith. She then became professor emeritus and lecturer, and remained active in her research and writing until 1984.

In 1948-49, Trotter took a leave of absence from Washington University to serve as an anthropologist in the Central Identification Laboratory of the American Graves Registration Service (under the aegis of the U.S.

Army Quartermaster Corps) at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. Under the Rockefeller Foundation’s program in Medical and Natural Sciences, Trotter assisted in starting the teaching program in the Department of Anatomy at Makerere and in preparing the post-graduate students for their board examinations.

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She lectured and traveled extensively – her journeys included trips to China, Japan, South Africa, Israel, Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, and Antarctica. Trotter accepted the research position once she learned the work could be applied towards a master’s degree in Anatomy.