He devised the test and scale in 1912 while working at the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company to measure pungency, "spiciness" or "capsaicin concentration” of various chili peppers.

The book was used as a pharmacological reference up until the 1960s, also making one of the earliest mentions of milk as an antidote for pepper heat.

In 1922, Scoville won the Ebert prize from the American Pharmaceutical Association, which is given to "recognize the author(s) of the best report of original investigation of a medicinal substance."

Scoville also received an honorary Doctor of Science from Columbia University in 1929.

On 22 January 2016,[2] Google Doodle celebrated Wilbur Scoville's 151st Birthday.