Louise Giblin

Louise A. [Giblin] Sallaway (December 24, 1895 – September 15, 1973) was a female chemist who significantly contributed to the baby formula Similac.

Born in 1895, Louise graduated from Simmons College in 1917 with a degree in science.^[1] Just a year later, Louise co-published two articles with milk chemist Dr. Alfred.W. Bosworth and Boston pediatrician Dr. Henry I. Bowditch. The studies were completed at Boston Floating Hospital, which is now part of Tufts Medical Center. The articles, entitled “Studies of Infant Feeding” and “The Casein of Human Milk” detail their search for a substitute to breast milk.^[2] The trio repeatedly experimented with the ratios of oils, calcium, and salts to proteins and carbohydrates. After 200 tests, the formula was marketed and bottled in 1924 by Moores and Ross Milk Company of Columbus which was acquired by Abbott Laboratories. In 1927, the formula was named Similac, a name proposed by Dr. Morris Fishbein, an editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, noting its similarly to lactation.^[3]

Louise moved to New York where she received a Masters in Chemistry from Columbia University in 1925.^[4] She was the first woman admitted to Kappa Mu Sigma, “a society for graduate students in chemistry” that aimed to “raise the standards of professional chemistry among women by insisting on the importance of (graduate) chemical training for a professional career.” While a member of Kappa Mu Sigma in 1927, she protested the New York City section of the American Chemical Society because of their exclusion of women at the dinners held at The Chemists' Club by surveying forty-five female section members of their interest of admittance and attendance at the dinners, of which the majority responded favorably. Her efforts, however, did not seem to have a substantial impact.^[5]

Louise was working toward her PhD when she gave up academia for marriage and raising her two sons. She died in 1973, but is remembered for her significant contribution which has nourished millions of infants around the world.

Early Life and Family

Louise A Giblin was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Mary Ellen O’Connor, age 36, and Thomas J Giblin, age 34. Her parents were both born in Massachusetts, but her grandparents immigrated from England and Ireland during the mid 19th century. She was the eldest of six children. She had three sisters, Catherine, Mary and Constance, and two brothers, John and Thomas.

In 1919, when Louise was 24 years old, her father passed away.

She married George Henry Sallaway in April 1928 at the age of 32 in their hometown of Boston, Massachusetts and they honeymooned in Bermuda. George was a salesman who worked for the magazine and print industry. Shortly after, they moved to Mount Vernon, New York. In 1930, Louise and George had their firstborn, George Henry Sallaway Jr. Two years later, Louise gave birth to their second son, Justin Louis Sallaway.

George Sr. passed away at the age of 74 in Scarsdale, New York. They had been married for 38 years. Only 6 years later, Louise passed away in Waco, Texas on September 15, 1973. She predeceased her two sons, seven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.^[6]

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