Thomas Midgley, Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944), was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mechanical engineerMechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that was developed from the application of principles from physics and materials science. Mechanical engineering involves the analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of various systems...
turned
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
. He developed both the
tetra-ethyl leadTetra-ethyl lead, abbreviated TEL, is an organometallic compound with the formula 4Pb. Once a common antiknock additive in gasoline , TEL usage was largely discontinued because of the toxicity of lead and its deleterious effect on catalytic converters...
(TEL) additive to
gasolineGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines...
and
chlorofluorocarbonA chlorofluorocarbon is an organic compound that contains carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Also discussed in this topic are the hydrochlorofluorocarbons , which contain hydrogen in addition to carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Most commonly, the term refers to a family of volatile derivatives of...
s (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
atmosphereAn atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
than any other single organism in Earth's history."
Midgley was born in
Beaver Falls, PennsylvaniaBeaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,920 at the 2000 census. It is located 31 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, and on the Beaver River, six miles from its confluence with the Ohio River...
, to a father who was also an
inventorAn inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find...
.
Thomas Midgley, Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944), was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mechanical engineerMechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that was developed from the application of principles from physics and materials science. Mechanical engineering involves the analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of various systems...
turned
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
. He developed both the
tetra-ethyl leadTetra-ethyl lead, abbreviated TEL, is an organometallic compound with the formula 4Pb. Once a common antiknock additive in gasoline , TEL usage was largely discontinued because of the toxicity of lead and its deleterious effect on catalytic converters...
(TEL) additive to
gasolineGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines...
and
chlorofluorocarbonA chlorofluorocarbon is an organic compound that contains carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Also discussed in this topic are the hydrochlorofluorocarbons , which contain hydrogen in addition to carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Most commonly, the term refers to a family of volatile derivatives of...
s (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
atmosphereAn atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
than any other single organism in Earth's history."
Early life
Midgley was born in
Beaver Falls, PennsylvaniaBeaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,920 at the 2000 census. It is located 31 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, and on the Beaver River, six miles from its confluence with the Ohio River...
, to a father who was also an
inventorAn inventor is a person who creates or discovers a new method, form, device or other useful means. The word inventor comes form the latin verb invenire, invent-, to find...
. He grew up in
Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the county seat of Franklin County, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties...
, and graduated from
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
in 1911 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Discovery of "Ethyl"
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 tetraethyllead (TEL) to gasoline prevented internal combustion engines from
"knocking"Knocking in spark-ignition internal combustion engines occurs when combustion of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder starts off correctly in response to ignition by the spark plug, but one or more pockets of air/fuel mixture explode outside the envelope of the normal combustion front...
. 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
ethanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug, best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and in modern thermometers. Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs...
or ethanol-blended fuels, on which they could make very little profit.
In December 1922, the
American Chemical SocietyThe American Chemical Society is a learned society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry...
awarded Midgley the
William H. NicholsWilliam Henry Nichols was a famous chemist and businessman who was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the...
Medal, the first of several major awards he won during his career.
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 poisoningLead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body...
. "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.
In April 1923, GM created the General Motors Chemical Company to supervise the production of TEL by the
DuPontE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont or Du Pont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont is currently the world's second largest chemical company in terms of market capitalization and...
company, and placed
Charles KetteringCharles Franklin Kettering was an American inventor and the holder of 140 patents. He was a founder of Delco, and was head of research for General Motors for 27 years from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive inventions were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline...
as president and Midgley as vice president. However, after two deaths and several cases of lead poisoning at the TEL prototype plant in
Dayton, OhioDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
, the staff at Dayton was said in 1924 to be "depressed to the point of considering giving up the whole tetraethyl lead program." Over the course of the next year, eight more people would die at DuPont's
Deepwater, New JerseyDeepwater is a community in Pennsville, in Salem County, New Jersey, lying at the east end of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Deepwater is the location of the United States Postal Service area covering ZIP code 08023...
plant.
Dissatisfied with the speed of DuPont's production using their "
bromideA bromide ion is a bromine atom with charge of −1.Compounds with bromine in formal oxidation state −1 are called bromides, and each individual chemical in this class can be called a bromide, as well...
process", GM and
Standard OilStandard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as an Ohio corporation, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
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 RefineryBayway Refinery is a refining facility located in Linden, New Jersey and Elizabeth, New Jersey, owned by ConocoPhillips. This is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United States. The oil refinery converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and heating oil...
in New Jersey. 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. 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.
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.
Discovery of Freon
In 1930, General Motors charged Midgley with developing a non-toxic and safe refrigerant for household appliances. He (along with
Charles KetteringCharles Franklin Kettering was an American inventor and the holder of 140 patents. He was a founder of Delco, and was head of research for General Motors for 27 years from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive inventions were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline...
) discovered dichlorodifluoromethane, a chlorinated fluorocarbon (CFC) which he dubbed
FreonFreon is DuPont's trade name for chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. In other countries the same family of chemical compounds are called Isceon, Ledon, Frigen, Kaltron, Flugene, Forane, Fridohna, Frigedohn, Algofrene, Asahiflon, Daiflon, Flon, Genetron, Kaiser, Isotron, Racon, Ucon,...
. 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 sprayAerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. This is used with a can or bottle that contains a liquid under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the liquid is forced out of a small hole and emerges as an aerosol or mist...
cans, metered dose inhalers (asthma inhalers), and more. He was awarded the
Perkin MedalThe Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the American section of the Society of Chemical Industry to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the highest honor given in the US industrial chemical...
in 1937 for this work.
Later life
In 1941, the American Chemical Society gave Midgley its highest award, the
Priestley MedalThe Priestley Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society and is awarded for distinguished service in the field of chemistry. Established in 1922, the award is named after Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen who emigrated to the United States of America in 1794.The...
, and followed up with the Willard Gibbs Medal in 1942. He also held two
honorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements...
s, and was elected to the
National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code....
. In 1944, he was president and chairman of the American Chemical Society.
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..
Midgley died before the effect of CFCs upon the ozone layer became widely known in 1974.
External links