Mary-Dell Chilton: key obituary facts
Is Mary-Dell Chilton dead? Yes. Mary-Dell Chilton died on June 24, 2026, at age 87.
Cause of death: Mary-Dell Chilton's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Mary-Dell Chilton known for?
She was an American biologist (born 1939).
More about Mary-Dell Chilton
Born: 2 February 1939.
Place of birth: Indianapolis.
Gender: female.
Occupation: biologist, geneticist.
Nationality: United States.
Education: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Employer: Washington University in St. Louis, Syngenta, University of Washington.
Awards: World Food Prize, Benjamin Franklin Medal, National Inventors Hall of Fame, Women in Technology Hall of Fame, National Medal of Technology and Innovation, John Scott Award.
Known for: First genetically modified plants.
Mary-Dell Chilton, an American biochemist and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology, died on June 24, 2026.
She was 87. Born in Indianapolis on February 2, 1939, she earned both a B.S.
and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Chilton later did postdoctoral work at the University of Washington in Seattle and taught and conducted research at Washington University in St. Louis. While on the faculty there in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she helped lead the collaborative work that produced the first transgenic plants.