Inventor Name
Johnson, Norman G.
Repository
Hagley Museum & Library
Manuscripts & Archives Department
P.O. Box 3630
Wilmington, DE 19807-0630
302-658-2400
https://www.hagley.org/research
Physical Description
0.7 linear ft.
Summary
Norman G. Johnson was an employee of the Explosives Dept. of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. He joined the staff of the Eastern Laboratory in Gibbstown, N.J., as a research chemist in 1926 and retired in 1967. He was granted 15 U.S. patents and co-authored three editions of the company's official explosives manual, the BLASTERS HANDBOOK. Norman Johnson's papers consist of reports and notes collected during his career with Du Pont for his intended revision of Arthur Pine Van Gelder and Hugo Schlatter, HISTORY OF THE EXPLOSIVES INDUSTRY IN AMERICA (New York : 1927). The papers include a number of unpublished articles and reports, including: "History of TNT, DNT, azide, tetryl and acid", by the Military Explosives Division of the Eastern Laboratory; "The first 50 years of the Barksdale Works"; "Contributions made by Eastern Laboratory to the war effort" (1946); "The Du Pont Company's part in the national security program" (1945); "A history of the development of tetryl" by Bailey H. Barnes; "A history of Burnside Laboratory" by Wallace H. Coxe; "Low cost blasting agents" by Glenn H. Damon (1961); "History of trinitrotoluene manufacture" by Ralph C. Kreuger; "The development of the dinitrotoluene process"; "A history of the development of the sodium azide and lead azide processes"; "Forty years of seismographic explosives" by Johnson; and "Comparison of the sulfuric acid concentrator units operated by the Military Explosives Division". There are also a notebook and a series of 34 folders containing Johnson's notes on the history of the explosives industry. Subjects covered include: metal cladding; the Du Pont instant rivet system, including explosive rivets in aircraft manufacture; consumption of explosives; the taconite iron ore industry in Michigan and Minnesota; Du Pont's synthetic diamond; seismographic prospecting; a list of "interesting and outstanding Du Pont blasts and episodes" (1927-1967); Du Pont jet tappers and jet perforators for steel furnaces and oil well casings; list of ordnance works built and managed by Du Pont during World War II; a list of competitive companies no longer in operation (1929-1964); Grasselli Powder Company; Excelsior Powder Manufacturing Company; and American Glycerine Company. There are also lists of Du Pont Explosives Dept. personnel, including directors of the Research & Development Division and of the Eastern Laboratory; notes for departmental summaries; and excerpts from the company annual reports concerning the Explosives Dept. (1926-1966).