Colin M. Snedeker (January 5, 1936 – October 22, 2016) was a British-born American

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 ...

best known as the

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an id ...

of the first washable crayons. Snedeker developed the washable crayon while working as a chemist for

Binney & Smith Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in list of art media, art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks To ...

, which was the parent company of

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylv ...

crayons at the time, in response to complaints from parents and consumers. He won the patent for the washable solid marking composition utilized in the

crayons A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wa ...

in 1990. He also developed products for

Kiwi shoe polish Kiwi is a shoe polish brand, now owned by S. C. Johnson. Originally made by an Australian company, which first marketed the product there in 1906, , it was sold in about 180 countries. Kiwi is the dominant shoe polish in some countries, ...

and DuPont.

Biography

Snedeker was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authori ...

on January 5, 1936. His grandfather had been killed in a fire before he was born and an English couple had adopted Snedeker's father when he was 13-years old. Colin Snedeker and his sister, Ann, were raised in England. They discovered letters from their father's birth family, who lived in Pennsylvania, in 1948, and soon were invited to visit them in the United States. Colin Snedeker entered

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

at age 13 and graduated when he was just 15-years old. He studied

metallurgy 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 sci ...

after high school. Snedeker was hired by

for one of his earliest jobs. There he developed a new, white shoe polish that did not stain

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

. He later moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

where he was employed as a chemist by Binney & Smith, the then-parent company of Crayola crayons. While working Binney & Smith, Snedeker ran out of ideas as to which projects to pursue. He visited the Crayola complaint department to gain an insight into consumer problems with their products. According to his sister, "One of the women

n the mail room N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

said they received the most mail from mothers wanting to know how to wash out crayons from

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

car seat A car seat is the seat used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but durable material in order to withstand prolonged use. The most common material is polyester. Bucket seat and bench seat A bucket seat is a separate ...

s and walls. He got to thinking, and that’s when he came up with washable crayons." Snedeker successfully developed the first washable crayon available on the market for Crayola. He was awarded the patent for the washable solid marking composition used in his washable crayons in 1990. During the later 1990s, Snedecker also won patents for

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, th ...

and phosphorescent marking compositions utilized in new lines of Crayolas, as well as a color-changing marking composition system for Crayola. In 2004, Snedeker, who was divorced and had no children, relocated from

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, to be closer to his relatives. Colin Snedeker died in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

, on October 22, 2016, at the age of 80. He was survived by his sister, Ann Strickland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snedeker, Colin 1936 births 2016 deaths American chemists 20th-century American inventors British emigrants to the United States English emigrants to the United States People from Wichita, Kansas Scientists from Pennsylvania Scientists from Newcastle upon Tyne