Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers

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Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Des Moines, Burlington County, Iowa, USA
Death: April 29, 1937 (41)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA
Place of Burial: Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA
Immediate Family:

Son of Ira Hume Carothers and Mary Evalena Carothers
Husband of Private
Brother of Isobel Berolzheimer; Private and Private

Occupation: Organic chemist
Managed by: Tommaso Valarani
Last Updated:
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Immediate Family

About Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers

Census: 1910 U.S. Federal Census - Wallace H Carothers & family - Des Moines, Iowa, USA
https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10132-24915256-/wallace-...

Death report: Dr. Wallace H. Carothers - 'Reading Eagle', April 29 1937 - Reading, PA (Media)
Death report: Dr. W.H. Carothers - 'The Boston Transcript', April 30 1937 - Boston, MA (Media)

Burial: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24088131/wallace-hume-carothers

Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Carothers

Wallace Hume Carothers (/kəˈrʌðərz/; April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, credited with the invention of nylon.[1]

Carothers was a group leader at the DuPont Experimental Station laboratory, near Wilmington, Delaware, where most polymer research was done.[2] Carothers was an organic chemist who, in addition to first developing nylon, also helped lay the groundwork for neoprene. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught at several universities before he was hired by DuPont to work on fundamental research.

He married Helen Sweetman on February 21, 1936. Carothers had been troubled by periods of depression since his youth. Despite his success with nylon, he felt that he had not accomplished much and had run out of ideas. His unhappiness was exacerbated by the death of his sister, and on April 28, 1937 he committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide.[3][4] His daughter, Jane, was born on November 27, 1937.

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Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers's Timeline

1896
April 27, 1896
Des Moines, Burlington County, Iowa, USA
1937
April 29, 1937
Age 41
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA
????
Glendale Cemetery (Plot: Block 28), Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA