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Wallace Hume Carothers (/kəˈrʌðərz/; April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, credited with the invention of nylon.[1]
Carothers was a group leader at the DuPont Experimental Station laboratory, near Wilmington, Delaware, where most polymer research was done.[2] Carothers was an organic chemist who, in addition to first developing nylon, also helped lay the groundwork for neoprene. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught at several universities before he was hired by DuPont to work on fundamental research.
He married Helen Sweetman on February 21, 1936. Carothers had been troubled by periods of depression since his youth. Despite his success with nylon, he felt that he had not accomplished much and had run out of ideas. His unhappiness was exacerbated by the death of his sister, and on April 28, 1937 he committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide.[3][4] His daughter, Jane, was born on November 27, 1937.
Carothers was a group leader at the DuPont Experimental Station laboratory, near Wilmington, Delaware, where most polymer research was done.[2] Carothers was an organic chemist who, in addition to first developing nylon, also helped lay the groundwork for neoprene. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught at several universities before he was hired by DuPont to work on fundamental research.
He married Helen Sweetman on February 21, 1936. Carothers had been troubled by periods of depression since his youth. Despite his success with nylon, he felt that he had not accomplished much and had run out of ideas. His unhappiness was exacerbated by the death of his sister, and on April 28, 1937 he committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide.[3][4] His daughter, Jane, was born on November 27, 1937.
Wallace Carothers - Wikipedia
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16th February 1937: Wallace Carothers receives a patent for nylon
Carothers joined DuPont from Harvard University, where he had taught organic chemistry. He was initially reluctant to move due to concerns that his history o...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that April 27 is the anniversary of the birth of American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont Wallace Hume Carothers who developed nylon the first synthetic polymer fiber to be produced commercially (in 1938) and one that laid the foundation of the synthetic-fiber industry.
16th February 1937: Wallace Carothers receives a patent for nylon
"Carothers joined DuPont from Harvard University, where he had taught organic chemistry. He was initially reluctant to move due to concerns that his history of depression would be a problem in an industrial setting, but DuPont executive Hamilton Bradshaw persuaded him otherwise and he took up his role in February 1928.
Having thrown himself into researching the structure and synthesis of polymers, Carothers and his team were responsible for creating the first synthetic replacement for rubber which was later named neoprene. Their laboratory, which was nicknamed “Purity Hall”, then began to focus on producing synthetic fibres that could be used in place of silk as this was becoming harder to source due to declining relations with Japan following the Great Depression.
On 28 February 1935 Carothers produced a fibre initially referred to as polyamide 6-6 as its components had six carbon atoms. Although the manufacturing process was complicated, DuPont were excited by the new material’s strength and elasticity and ordered the laboratory to press ahead with their research. However, plagued by depression, Carothers committed suicide in a hotel room in April 1937 by drinking potassium cyanide dissolved in lemon juice.
DuPont continued to refine the manufacturing process and revealed women’s stockings made of nylon, as it became known, at the 1939 New York World's Fair. By the time the first pairs were made commercially available in 1940, the company had invested $27 million into the development of a material that is now found in everything from guitar strings to medical implants."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhN6dRdyOqY
Background from lemelson.mit.edu/resources/wallace-hume-carothers
"Wallace Hume Carothers
Polymeric Materials: Nylon and Neoprene
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company once called Wallace Hume Carothers "one of the most brilliant organic chemists" the company had ever employed. In the nine years he spent working there, Carothers (1896-1937) made contributions to the theory of organic chemistry that led to the invention of polymeric materials, such as the synthetic materials nylon and neoprene, the first commercially successful synthetic rubber.
Carothers grew up in Iowa, the son of a schoolteacher. After receiving a BS from Tarkio College, Carothers obtained his master's and doctoral degrees from University of Illinois.
After his graduation, Carothers became an instructor at Harvard University, where he started experimenting with chemical structures of polymers with high molecular weight. In 1928, DuPont lured him away from Harvard to work in a new research lab in Wilmington, Del. for developing artificial materials. There, he investigated the structure of substances of high molecular weight and their formation by polymerization.
In 1931, due to political and trade troubles with Japan, the United States' main source of silk, that fiber was getting harder and more expensive to come by. DuPont wanted to develop a synthetic fiber that could replace it. In 1934, Carothers and his team set out to produce a strong, elastic fiber that would not melt below 195°C. Carothers formulated a new strategy for synthesizing giant molecules, and that year, Carothers and his team pulled the first long, strong, flexible strands of a synthetic polymer fiber out of a test tube. They realized immediately that this artificial fiber had properties similar and in many ways superior to such natural fibers as wool, cotton, and silk.
The new super-polymer reached the market in 1937 in the form of toothbrush bristles advertised as superior to anything plucked from the hide of an animal. In 1938, DuPont went public, announcing the invention of nylon, "the first man-made organic textile fabric prepared entirely from new materials from the mineral kingdom." Nylon stockings, modeled by women at the New York World's Fair in 1939 and put on sale in 1940, were a huge hit.
Meanwhile, frustrated at times with the flaws of his "silk" superpolymer research, Carothers set aside the project to investigate another interest of his – cyclic compounds. One of them, he noticed, gave off an intriguing aroma. Marketed as Astrotone, it became the first synthetic musk. The Carothers group also continued to work on another creation, a polymer that became neoprene, or synthetic rubber.
In the course of his research, Carothers published 31 papers, establishing general theories about polymers and regularizing the terminology of the field. He had brought the world not just nylon, but also knowledge of natural polymers and how they are formed. In 1935, Carothers was the first organic chemist elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1936, Carothers married Helen Sweetman, a colleague of his at DuPont. A year later, he tragically committed suicide after a lifelong bout with depression. However, Carothers' legacy lives on. Nylon is used all over the world today in a variety of applications including apparel, carpeting, home furnishings, and industrial products. Its invention marked the beginning of a new era of synthetic fibers, which continues to expand."
Thank you for reminding me, my friend TSgt Joe C.
FYI LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke 1stSgt Eugene Harless SSG William Jones SSG Diane R.
16th February 1937: Wallace Carothers receives a patent for nylon
"Carothers joined DuPont from Harvard University, where he had taught organic chemistry. He was initially reluctant to move due to concerns that his history of depression would be a problem in an industrial setting, but DuPont executive Hamilton Bradshaw persuaded him otherwise and he took up his role in February 1928.
Having thrown himself into researching the structure and synthesis of polymers, Carothers and his team were responsible for creating the first synthetic replacement for rubber which was later named neoprene. Their laboratory, which was nicknamed “Purity Hall”, then began to focus on producing synthetic fibres that could be used in place of silk as this was becoming harder to source due to declining relations with Japan following the Great Depression.
On 28 February 1935 Carothers produced a fibre initially referred to as polyamide 6-6 as its components had six carbon atoms. Although the manufacturing process was complicated, DuPont were excited by the new material’s strength and elasticity and ordered the laboratory to press ahead with their research. However, plagued by depression, Carothers committed suicide in a hotel room in April 1937 by drinking potassium cyanide dissolved in lemon juice.
DuPont continued to refine the manufacturing process and revealed women’s stockings made of nylon, as it became known, at the 1939 New York World's Fair. By the time the first pairs were made commercially available in 1940, the company had invested $27 million into the development of a material that is now found in everything from guitar strings to medical implants."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhN6dRdyOqY
Background from lemelson.mit.edu/resources/wallace-hume-carothers
"Wallace Hume Carothers
Polymeric Materials: Nylon and Neoprene
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company once called Wallace Hume Carothers "one of the most brilliant organic chemists" the company had ever employed. In the nine years he spent working there, Carothers (1896-1937) made contributions to the theory of organic chemistry that led to the invention of polymeric materials, such as the synthetic materials nylon and neoprene, the first commercially successful synthetic rubber.
Carothers grew up in Iowa, the son of a schoolteacher. After receiving a BS from Tarkio College, Carothers obtained his master's and doctoral degrees from University of Illinois.
After his graduation, Carothers became an instructor at Harvard University, where he started experimenting with chemical structures of polymers with high molecular weight. In 1928, DuPont lured him away from Harvard to work in a new research lab in Wilmington, Del. for developing artificial materials. There, he investigated the structure of substances of high molecular weight and their formation by polymerization.
In 1931, due to political and trade troubles with Japan, the United States' main source of silk, that fiber was getting harder and more expensive to come by. DuPont wanted to develop a synthetic fiber that could replace it. In 1934, Carothers and his team set out to produce a strong, elastic fiber that would not melt below 195°C. Carothers formulated a new strategy for synthesizing giant molecules, and that year, Carothers and his team pulled the first long, strong, flexible strands of a synthetic polymer fiber out of a test tube. They realized immediately that this artificial fiber had properties similar and in many ways superior to such natural fibers as wool, cotton, and silk.
The new super-polymer reached the market in 1937 in the form of toothbrush bristles advertised as superior to anything plucked from the hide of an animal. In 1938, DuPont went public, announcing the invention of nylon, "the first man-made organic textile fabric prepared entirely from new materials from the mineral kingdom." Nylon stockings, modeled by women at the New York World's Fair in 1939 and put on sale in 1940, were a huge hit.
Meanwhile, frustrated at times with the flaws of his "silk" superpolymer research, Carothers set aside the project to investigate another interest of his – cyclic compounds. One of them, he noticed, gave off an intriguing aroma. Marketed as Astrotone, it became the first synthetic musk. The Carothers group also continued to work on another creation, a polymer that became neoprene, or synthetic rubber.
In the course of his research, Carothers published 31 papers, establishing general theories about polymers and regularizing the terminology of the field. He had brought the world not just nylon, but also knowledge of natural polymers and how they are formed. In 1935, Carothers was the first organic chemist elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1936, Carothers married Helen Sweetman, a colleague of his at DuPont. A year later, he tragically committed suicide after a lifelong bout with depression. However, Carothers' legacy lives on. Nylon is used all over the world today in a variety of applications including apparel, carpeting, home furnishings, and industrial products. Its invention marked the beginning of a new era of synthetic fibers, which continues to expand."
Thank you for reminding me, my friend TSgt Joe C.
FYI LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke 1stSgt Eugene Harless SSG William Jones SSG Diane R.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs Maj Marty Hogan LTC Stephen F. CW5 Jack Cardwell TSgt David L. Cpl (Join to see) Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPL Dave Hoover SPC Douglas Bolton LTC Greg Henning Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Alan K. Lt Col Charlie Brown PO2 Kevin Parker SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 John Johnson Sgt (Join to see) PVT Mark Zehner Col Carl Whicker SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
COL Mikel J. Burroughs Maj Marty Hogan LTC Stephen F. CW5 Jack Cardwell TSgt David L. Cpl (Join to see) Maj William W. 'Bill' Price CPL Dave Hoover SPC Douglas Bolton LTC Greg Henning Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Alan K. Lt Col Charlie Brown PO2 Kevin Parker SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 John Johnson Sgt (Join to see) PVT Mark Zehner Col Carl Whicker SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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