Charles Benjamin Dudley (July 14, 1842 – December 21, 1909) was a
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...
who was an early proponent of
standardisation
Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...
in industry.
Dudley was born in
Oxford, New York
Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village also named Oxford. Oxford is an interior town in the south-central part of the county, southwest of the city of Norwich. At the 2010 census the town populati ...
, and owing to family circumstances, had to wait until 1867 before he could enter
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
, supporting himself as a night editor on the ''
New Haven Palladium''
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...
. He eventually earned a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the
Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffiel ...
.
[ non.(2001)]
In 1875, he became a chemist for the
Pennsylvania Railroad and started to investigate the chemical composition and
metallurgical
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
structure of
rail tracks
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleeper ...
,
breakage being a major hazard at that time.
He discovered enormous variation in the properties and quality of steel and the 1878 publication of his results caused an uproar in the steel industry, who saw it as their sole domain to determine the quality of their products for sale. Dudley championed the development of the company and industry standards and demanded rigorous testing of materials to verify conformity. He developed a complete range of standards for the Pennsylvania Railroad, not only for steel, but also for
fuels,
lubricants,
paints, and even
locomotives.
In 1879, he was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
In 1898, he was one of the founders of the
American Society for Testing and Materials
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...
(ASTM),
becoming president from 1902 to 1908.
[ non.(1926) '' New International Encyclopedia'']
He died in
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...
.
Honours
*Member of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
;
*President of the ASTM, (1902-1909).
References
Bibliography
*
non.(2001) "Dudley, Charles Benjamin", ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'', Deluxe Edition CD-ROM
*Dudley, C. B. (1878) "The chemical composition and physical properties of steel rails", ''Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Charles Benjamin
1842 births
1909 deaths
19th-century American chemists
Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni
People from Oxford, New York
Scientists from New York (state)
Yale College alumni
20th-century American chemists