This illustration shows Uncle Sam consoling Dr. Harvey Wiley, who on March 15, 1912 resigned as Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry. It was his 1902 study into the effects of a diet consisting in part of various preservatives that revealed the common adulteration of basic foodstuffs. Wiley’s famous “poison squad” studies drew national attention to the need for a federal food and drug law.

Wiley was a tireless crusader and coalition builder in support of national food and drug regulation which earned him the title of “Father of the Pure Food and Drugs Act” when it became law in 1906.