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Wallace Carothers

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Inventor

The Resume

    (April 28, 1896-April 29, 1937)
    Born in Burlington, Iowa
    Organic chemist
    Group leader at the DuPont Experimental Station
    Invented nylon (1935)
    Also played an important role in the invention of neoprene, the first artificial rubber (1930)
    Developed Carothers Equation to describe the degree of conversion of a monomer to a polymer
    Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (1984)

Why he might be annoying:

    He initially rejected DuPont’s offer of employment, explaining ‘I suffer from neurotic spells of diminished capacity, which might constitute a much more serious handicap there than here [in academia].’
    He disappeared from work for several weeks and was discovered in a clinic near Johns Hopkins University, having driven to Baltimore to consult with a psychiatrist who then had him committed (1934).
    Despite the success of nylon, he felt he had not accomplished much and had run out of ideas.
    He kept a cyanide capsule on his watch chain and used it to commit suicide in a hotel room.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He so excelled at chemistry in college that he was made an instructor before graduating (with the result that in his senior year he was teaching one of the classes he was a student in).
    He was the first industrial organic chemist elected to the Academy of Sciences (1936).
    He laid the foundation for the entire synthetic fiber industry.

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying