Julian Werner Hill | |
---|---|
Born | 1904
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | January 29, 1996
Hockessin, Delaware, U.S. |
Alma mater |
Washington University in St. Louis Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Occupation | chemist |
Spouse | Mary Louisa Butcher |
Children | 2 sons, 1 daughter |
Julian W. Hill (1904-1996) was an American chemist who helped develop nylon. [1]
Julian W. Hill was born in 1904, and he grew up in Warrenton, Missouri. [2] He graduated from the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis in 1924, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and he went on to earn a PhD in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1928. [2] [3] [1]
Hill joined DuPont, where he worked as a chemist in the Experimental Station laboratories under Wallace H. Carothers's supervision. [3] He initially studied polymers in the 1920s. [1] By 1930, he had used a cold drawing method to produce a polyester. [2] [4] Hill's cold drawing method was used by Carothers in 1934 to develop the polyamide later named nylon, which was patented by DuPont [3] and was a greater commercial success due to its higher melting point. [2]
Hill was promoted to assistant director of the chemical department. [2] He also served on DuPont's steering committee from 1932 to 1951. [2] He became the Chair of DuPont's Committee on Educational Aid in 1951, and he helped fund academic programs in the United States until his retirement in 1964. [2] [3] [1]
Hill married Mary Louisa "Polly" Butcher, a Vassar College alumna, in 1931. [5] They had two sons and a daughter. [3] He had poliomyelitis. [3] He retired at the Cokesbury Village retirement village in Hockessin, Delaware with his wife, where he died on January 29, 1996. [3]