Ruth Myrtle Patrick (November 26, 1907 – September 23, 2013) was an American botanist and limnologist specializing in diatoms and freshwater ecology.

She authored more than 200 scientific papers,[1] developed ways to measure the health of freshwater ecosystems and established numerous research facilities.

"[2] Ruth attended the Sunset Hill School in Kansas City, Missouri, graduating in 1925.

Ruth's mother insisted that she attend Coker College, a women's school in Hartsville, South Carolina, but her father arranged for her to attend summer courses, through fear that Coker would not provide satisfactory education in the sciences.

[3] Patrick's research in fossilized diatoms showed that the Great Dismal Swamp between Virginia and North Carolina was once a forest, which had been flooded by seawater.

Dixon Stroud and his wife Joan Milliken Stroud; this facility was located on the Stroud's property adjoining White Clay Creek in Avondale, Pennsylvania[6] Patrick's work on the Great Salt Lake in the 1930s used the history of diatoms in the sediments of the lake to prove the lake was once a freshwater body of water, and established some solid clues as to what caused the shift to saltwater.

Her work with both academics and industry giants like DuPont fostered an understanding of pollutants and their effect on rivers, lakes, and drinking water sources.

[8] Highlights include: The Ruth Patrick Science Education Center in Aiken, South Carolina, is named after her.