born April 27, 1896, Burlington, Iowa, U.S.
died April 29, 1937, Philadelphia, Pa.
U.S. chemist.
He became director of organic chemical research at neoprene . His outstanding achievement involved the theory of linear polymerization; he tested it by synthesizing polymers structurally resembling cellulose and silk, culminating in the production of nylon . The first synthetic polymer fibre to be produced commercially (1938), it laid the foundation of the synthetic fibre industry.