A Dame Full of Vim and Vigour

First Published in 1999. Alice Middleton Boring was a remarkable woman who lived and worked in remarkable times. This feisty, head-strong scientist spent her life teaching biology in China, during some of the most tumultuous times in the country's history. Alice found herself continually distracted from science by civil war, revolution, the Japanese occupation, World War II (involving her internment and repatriation), and the upheaval which resulted in the creation of a new, socialist society. Nevertheless, throughout the turmoil she continued to publish scientific papers. In spite of her experiences, she remained deeply influenced by her time in China long after her return to the United States. Loyalty to the Chinese and an almost evangelical appreciation of her adopted culture permeated the rest of her personal and professional life.