Waldo Lonsbury Semon (September 10, 1898 – May 26, 1999) was an American inventor born in

Demopolis, Alabama Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and Tombigbee ...

. He is credited with inventing methods for making

polyvinyl chloride Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons of ...

useful.

Biography

He was born on September 10, 1898. He completed his education at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, earning degrees in 1920 and 1924. His doctoral degree was among the first in the nation to be awarded in

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

. Semon is best known for plasticizing

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

, the world's third most used

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

. He is also credited for being the first to commercialise

plasticizer A plasticizer ( UK: plasticiser) is a substance that is added to a material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase its plasticity, to decrease its viscosity, and/or to decrease friction during its handling in manufacture. Plasticizer ...

s for vinyl, which greatly increased their utility, starting with

dibutyl phthalate Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is an organic compound of phthalate which is commonly used as a plasticizer because of its low toxicity and wide liquid range. With the chemical formula C6H4(CO2C4H9)2, it is a colorless oil, although impurities often r ...

. He found the

formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

for vinyl by mixing a few synthetic polymers, and the result was a substance that was elastic, but wasn't adhesive. Semon worked on methods of improving rubber, and eventually developed a synthetic substitute. On December 11, 1935, he created ''Koroseal'' from salt, coke and limestone, a polymer that could be made in any consistency. Semon made more than 5,000 other synthetic rubber compounds, achieving success with ''

Ameripol The Police Community of the Americas or Ameripol () is a hemispheric mechanism of cooperation police organization created in 2007. Mission The Police Community of the Americas - AMERIPOL is a hemispheric mechanism of cooperation, which purpose i ...

'' (AMERican POLymer) in 1940 for the B.F. Goodrich company. In all, Semon held 116

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s, and was inducted into the Invention Hall of Fame in 1995 at the age of 97. While at B.F. Goodrich, Semon reported to Harry L. Fisher and later supervised Benjamin S. Garvey, both of whom also received the

Charles Goodyear Medal The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society#Organization, American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, ...

. He hired Charles S. Schollenberger who received the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award. Semon is sometimes credited with inventing

bubble gum Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Composition In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...

, but this is inaccurate. He did invent an indigestible synthetic rubber substance that could be used as a bubble gum (and produced exceptionally large bubbles), but the product remained a curiosity and was never sold. Semon graduated from the

earning a BS in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

. He was awarded the

in 1944, the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. Th ...

in 1964, and the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

in 1965. After retiring from B.F. Goodrich, he served as a research professor at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He died in Hudson, Ohio, on May 26, 1999, at the age of 100.

Legacy

Waldo Semon Woods Conservation Area, is named in honor of the inventor, for his donation of land to Metro Parks, serving Summit County, Ohio. It is over 100 acres, with a pond where herons, turtles and amphibians are often seen.

References

External links

Audio interview
with Waldo Semon.
Map
of Waldo Semon woods.

External links

Metro Parks, Serving Summit County
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semon, Waldo 1898 births 1999 deaths American men centenarians 20th-century American chemists American chemical engineers People from Demopolis, Alabama American polymer scientists and engineers University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Washington College of Engineering alumni 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American inventors Scientists from Ohio