Stephen Moulton Babcock (22 October 1843 – 2 July 1931) was an American agricultural chemist. He is best known for developing the Babcock test, used to determine butterfat content in milk and cheese processing, and for the single-grain experiment that led to the development of nutritional science as a recognized discipline.
Early life and career
Babcock was born on a farm in Bridgewater, New York to Peleg and Cornelia Babcock. He earned a B.A. from Tufts College in 1866 and attended Cornell University from 1872 to 1875, before studying organic chemistry at the University of Göttingen, Germany, from which he received a Ph.D. in 1879. His estate was left to the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agriculture. By a decision of the deans, a housing cooperative for male students studying agriculture was established in the Babcock home and named in his honor. Babcock House is the oldest continuously operating student housing cooperative in Wisconsin and is now open to male and female students of any course of study. Currently, the alumni board treasurer is Alex Held.
In 1948, the Institute of Food Technologists created the Stephen M. Babcock Award (now the Babcock-Hart Award) in honor of Babcock's achievements. Additionally, the Food Science Department building at the University of Wisconsin in Madison was named in Babcock's honor in 1952. The Institute of International Dairy Research and Development at Wisconsin was also named in Babcock's honor.