Harold L. Rosenthal
Harold Rosenthal, born in New Jersey in 1922, earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 1943 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and physiology from Rutgers University in 1951. He taught at Tulane University, the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies, and the Rochester General Hospital prior to moving to St. Louis in 1958 to serve as chairman of the Department of Physiological Chemistry at Washington University and its School of Dentistry.
Rosenthal is best known for his role in the analysis of baby teeth collected during the St. Louis Baby Tooth Survey (1958-1970). That research showed that strontium-90 levels in baby teeth rose and fell over the years in correlation with atomic bomb testing.
Rosenthal retired as professor emeritus of Biomedical Science in 1987. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Society of American Biochemists, the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Biological Science, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and the American Institute of Nutrition.