Photo from Dickinson College Photo Collection

    Milton Walker Eddy was born in 1884 in Calcutta, India to American parents. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1910 and obtained his Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania in 1929. He became an Instructor in Zoology at Pennsylvania State College from 1910-1911. From 1913-1918, Eddy was a Professor of Zoology at Pennsylvania State College. At this point he became an Assistant Chief Chemist for the United States Ammonium Nitrate Plant in Perryville, Maryland in 1918. Eddy was also a Bacteriologist at the Ordinance Department part of the United States Army in 1919. Continuing in a scientific career, he became a Scientific Assistant at the United States Public Health Service and was in charge of Sanitation and the X-ray Station in 1920.
    Eddy joined the Dickinson College faculty in 1921 as full Professor of Biology. While he teaching at Dickinson, he attended the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania for graduate work. He became Chairman of the Department in 1921 as well.  Eddy later retired in 1955 after being the department chair for thirty-four years and a teacher for fifty-five years¹ .
    Most of Eddy's time went to researching the microphotography of hair. Much of his research helped the police in criminal investigations. He was established as the recognized authority on the identification of persons by hair specimens² . He published most of his findings as wells. Some of his publications are: "Pathological Study of a Commercial Yeast in the Lungs of White Rats," "Oxygen Consumption of the Fresh Water Mussel," and "Technique in Hair, Fur, and Wool Identification."
    In addition to his research, Eddy was interested in collecting antique lamps. At one point he had over 200 lamps in his collection. He was also an ardent photographer in his spare time. Eddy married and had three children who all attended Dickinson College. Eddy died on June 14, 1964.

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Class of 1934     Chronicles Dickinson College

Dickinson 1934 is a project of Prof. Osborne's History 204 Class, Fall Semester 2000.