Harvey W. Wiley

Harvey W. Wiley was an American chemist and reformer, often called the "Crusading Chemist." He was a passionate advocate for public health and played a crucial role in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.1

Wiley became the chief chemist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Chemistry and expanded its studies on food adulteration. His work, alongside investigative journalists known as "muckrakers," exposed unsanitary conditions and deceptive practices in the food and drug industries. The Pure Food and Drug Act prohibited the sale of adulterated and misbranded food and drugs in interstate commerce and required accurate ingredient labeling, laying the groundwork for the Food and Drug Administration.1