| Thomas Midgley, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 May 1889 Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Died | 2 November 1944 |
| Residence |  USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | mechanical engineer / chemist |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Known for | Leaded petrol and CFCs |
| Notable awards | Nichols Medal (1922) Perkin Medal (1937) Priestley Medal (1941) Willard Gibbs Award (1942) |
Thomas Midgley, Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944), was an American mechanical engineer turned chemist. He developed both the tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) additive to gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and held over a hundred patents. While lauded at the time for his discoveries, today his legacy is seen as far more mixed considering the serious negative environmental impacts of these innovations. One historian remarked that Midgley "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history."[1]
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Midgley was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to a father who was also an inventor. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Cornell University in 1911 with a degree in mechanical engineering.[2]
In December 1921, while working under the direction of Charles Kettering at Dayton Research Laboratories - a subsidiary of General Motors (he began working there in 1916), Midgley discovered that the addition of tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) to gasoline prevented internal combustion engines from "knocking". The company dubbed the substance "Ethyl", avoiding all mention of lead in reports and advertising. Oil companies and auto makers, especially GM which owned the patent (filed by Kettering and Midgley), strenuously promoted leaded fuel as an alternative to ethanol or ethanol-blended fuels, on which they could make very little profit.[3]
In December 1922, the American Chemical Society awarded Midgley the William H. Nichols Medal, the first of several major awards he won during his career.[2]
The subsequent addition of lead to gasoline eventually resulted in the release of huge amounts of lead into the atmosphere, causing serious health problems around the world. Midgley himself had to take a prolonged vacation to cure himself of lead poisoning. "After about a year's work in organic lead," he wrote in January 1923, "I find that my lungs have been affected and that it is necessary to drop all work and get a large supply of fresh air." He went to Miami for convalescence.[4]
In April 1923, GM created the General Motors Chemical Company to supervise the production of TEL by the DuPont company, and placed Charles Kettering as president and Midgley as vice president. However, after two deaths and several cases of lead poisoning at the TEL prototype plant in Dayton, Ohio, the staff at Dayton was said in 1924 to be "depressed to the point of considering giving up the whole tetraethyl lead program."[4] Over the course of the next year, eight more people would die at DuPont's Deepwater, New Jersey plant.[4]
Dissatisfied with the speed of DuPont's production using their "bromide process", GM and Standard Oil created the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation in 1924, and built a new TEL plant using a more dangerous high-temperature "ethyl chloride process" at the Bayway Refinery in New Jersey.[4] Within the first two months of its operation, the Bayway plant was plagued by more cases of lead poisoning, hallucinations, insanity, and then five deaths in quick succession. On October 30, Midgley participated in a press conference to demonstrate the "safety" of contact with the substance. In this demonstration, he poured tetra-ethyl lead over his hands, then placed a bottle of the chemical under his nose and breathed it in for sixty seconds, declaring that he could do this every day without succumbing to any problems whatsoever.[3][5] However, the plant was decisively shut down by the State of New Jersey a few days later, and Standard was forbidden to manufacture TEL there again without state permission. Midgley himself was careful to avoid mentioning to the press that he subsequently required nearly a year to recover from the lead poisoning brought on by his demonstration.[citation needed]
Midgley was relieved of his position as vice president of GMCC in April 1925, reportedly due to his inexperience in organizational matters, but he remained an employee of GM.[3]
In 1930, General Motors charged Midgley with developing a non-toxic and safe refrigerant for household appliances. He (along with Charles Kettering) discovered dichlorodifluoromethane, a chlorofluorocarbon which he dubbed Freon. CFCs replaced the various toxic or explosive substances previously used as the working fluid in heat pumps and refrigerators. CFCs were also used as propellants in aerosol spray cans, metered dose inhalers (asthma inhalers), and more. He was awarded the Perkin Medal in 1937 for this work.
In 1941, the American Chemical Society gave Midgley its highest award, the Priestley Medal, and followed up with the Willard Gibbs Medal in 1942. He also held two honorary degrees, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1944, he was president and chairman of the American Chemical Society.[2]
In 1940, at the age of 51, Midgley contracted polio which left him severely disabled. This led him to devise an elaborate system of strings and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. This system was the eventual cause of his death when he was accidentally entangled in the ropes of this device and died of strangulation at the age of 55.[6][7][8] Midgley died three decades before the effect of CFCs upon the ozone layer became widely known.
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Thomas Midgley (born 18 May 1889; died 2 November 1944), was an American inventor. He invented a lot of things. His two most famous inventions are both now banned because they are dangerous for the world environment: the use of lead in petrol (gasoline) and the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigerators. Midgley was accidentally killed by something he was inventing.
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Midgley was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. His father was also an inventor. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Cornell University in 1911 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
In 1921 Midgely discovered that if tetra-ethyl lead (TEL) was added to petrol it helped to stop the engine knocking. The company he worked for, Dayton Research Laboratories, advertised the invention, but they did not call it "lead " because everyone knew that lead was poisonous. Instead, they called it "ethyl". When lead was added to petrol huge amounts of lead went into the atmosphere causing health problems all over the world. Midgley himself had to take long periods of holiday because his health was suffering through lead poisoning.
Lead continued to be put into petrol although several people working at the factory in DuPont's Deepwater, New Jersey died. GM and Standard Oil continued by using a more dangerous high-temperature method of using lead. More people started to suffer from lead poisoning: they started to hallucinate, became insane and died. In October 1924 Midgley talked at a press conference and told everybody that lead was safe. He put a bottle of the chemical under his nose and breathed it in for a minute. However, the plant was shut down after that.
In the 1930s Midgley developed a non-poisonous substance called CFC (chlorinated fluorocarbon) for use in refrigerators, inhalers and aerosol spray cans. He was given many high awards for his work and in 1944 he became president and chairman of the American Chemical Society.
In 1940, at the age of 51, Midgley became ill with polio which left him very disabled. He found it difficult to get out of bed. He decided to invent a complicated system of strings and pulleys to lift him from his bed. One day he got caught up in the ropes and died of strangulation.
Midgley died before the days when people realized that CFCs were destroying the ozone layer which prevents harmful rays from the sun reaching the earth. They are now banned in refrigerators, but are still used in some countries.
In the United States it was not until 1973 that people started to produce gasoline without lead and, in 1996, the Clean Air Act banned the sale of leaded fuel for use in on-road vehicles. However it was still legal in the U.S. for aircraft, racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines until 2008. Leaded gasoline is still common in South America, Africa, and some parts of Asia and the Middle East.
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