This collection contains material related to the death of Mary McNichols, a Saint Louis University student who died due to a laboratory accident in 1939.

Mary McNichols was born in 1918 in St. Louis to parents Henry and May. She enrolled as a student at Saint Louis University in 1935 and was expected to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Laboratory Technology in July 1939. In February 1939, during her work as a student technician at Firmin Desloge Hospital, she was injured when a glass beaker exploded. McNichols died from her injuries on February 15, 1939. After her death, the School of Medicine established the Mary McNichols Award, an academic achievement award for student medical technicians.

This collection contains: a booklet from her memorial service including a photograph of McNichols, as well as the address given by Reverend Edward Dowling, S. J.; a memo announcing the creation of the Mary McNichols Award; a letter from Reverend Alphonse Schwitalla, Dean of the School of Medicine, to the first winner of the award; and several transcripts conducted with others at Firmin Desloge Hospital during the investigation of McNichols’ death.