The Resume

(July 24, 1914-August 7, 2015)
Born in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Birth name was Frances Oldham
Pharmacologist
Reviewer for the US Food and Drug Agency
Reviewed an application from Richardson Merrell to market thalidomide as a tranquilizer, with specific use to treat morning sickness in pregnant women (1960)
Withheld approval and requested further studies

Why she might be annoying:

She got into the University of Chicago's graduate school only because a professor apparently misread 'Frances' as 'Francis' and welcomed 'Mr. Oldham' to the program.
Due to a tendency to oversimplify history, she is often inaccurately presented as having single-handedly uncovered the hazards of thalidomide.
She was the first recipient of the FDA's Frances O. Kelsey Drug Safety Excellence Award. (What a coincidence.)

Why she might not be annoying:

She complained that Richardson Merrell's toxicity studies for thalidomide were so incomplete as to be meaningless.
She discovered that Merrell had not notified the FDA of any adverse reactions even though the drug was sold in Germany with a label warning of side effects.
She also noted that although thalidomide was to be used to treat morning sickness, none of its animal tests had used pregnant animals.
She resisted pressure from Merrell representatives who complained to her supervisors and would show up at her office to protest the delays.
She was vindicated when reports from Europe linked thalidomide to a wave of birth defects and infant deaths.
She became the second woman to receive the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service (1962).
The Washington Post wrote, 'Her skepticism and stubbornness prevented what could have been an appalling American tragedy.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Award Namesakes
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 58]
• I Attended McGill
• I Attended University of Chicago
• I Come from Canada
• I Died in 2015 (Ranked: 101)
• I Earned a Doctorate
• I Lived to 100 (Ranked: 101)
• Look at Me, I Got a Microphone
• Look at Me, I'm with John F. Kennedy
• Man's World
• Order of Canada Recipients
• Profiles 36751-37000 (Ranked: 36938)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20150807)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 150 Votes: 52.67% Annoying