Inventor Name
Carothers, Wallace H.
Repository
Hagley Museum & Library
Manuscripts & Archives Department
P.O. Box 3630
Wilmington, DE 19807-0630
302-658-0545
https://www.hagley.org/research
Physical Description
0.2 linear feet
Summary
Wallace H. Carothers was born on April 27, 1896 in Burlington, Iowa. In 1915 he enrolled in Tarkio College (Missouri) as a chemistry major. In 1920 he enrolled in the chemistry department of the University of Illinois, where he studied under Dr. Roger Adams, completing his Ph.D. in 1924 with a specialization in organic chemistry. In 1926 he was appointed instructor of organic chemistry at Harvard University. Two years later when the Du Pont Company embarked on a fundamental research program at the Wilmington Experimental Station, Carothers was selected to head the research unit in organic chemistry. In 1929 Carothers was elected Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Carothers' work at Du Pont focused on polymerization and the ways in which polymers structurally analogous to cellulose and silk could be prepared. The result was "fiber 66," the first completely synthetic fiber, patented in 1937 and marketed by Du Pont under the name Nylon. Wallace Carothers committed suicide on April 29, 1937. Scope & Content Note: Professional and technical correspondence primarily with colleagues in the chemistry department at Iowa State University, Harvard, and at the Du Pont Company. The papers describe the Du Pont Company's recruitment of Carothers. His work on polymerization,
