Babcock, Stephen Moulton

Stephen Moulton Babcock, (born October 22, 1843, near Bridgewater, New York, U.S.—died July 2, 1931, Madison, Wisconsin), agricultural research chemist, often called the father of scientific dairying chiefly because of his development of the Babcock test, a simple method of measuring the butterfat content of milk. Introduced in 1890, the test discouraged milk adulteration, stimulated improvement of dairy production, and aided in factory manufacture of cheese and butter.

butterfat

Babcock took degrees both in the United States and in Germany, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1879. After working as a teacher and chemist in New York, he joined the staff of the University of Wisconsin, where he remained for the next 43 years. The laboratory that he established there carried out pioneering research in nutrition and in the chemistry of vitamins.