Wallace Carothers

Wallace Hume Carothers (; April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist and inventor. He was the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont. He is known for the invention of nylon.Hermes, Matthew. Enough for One Lifetime. Wallace Carothers, Inventor of Nylon, Chemical Heritage Foundation, 1996, .

Carothers went to the University of Illinois to study for his Ph.D. under Roger Adams. His degree was awarded in 1924. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught at several universities before joining DuPont. He was a group leader at the DuPont Experimental Station laboratory. The laboratory was near Wilmington, Delaware and it was where most polymer research was done.Roberts, RM (1989) Serendipity: Accidental discoveries In Science, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 

He married Helen Sweetman on February 21, 1936. On April 28, 1937 he committed suicide by drinking potassium cyanide.Burton, Holman, Lazonby, Pilling & Waddington, Chemical Storylines, Heinemann Educational Publishers, 2000. Lee, A., "Wallace Carothers: Tragedy of the father of Nylon", Daily Express, Feb. 23, 2015. His daughter, Jane, was born on November 27, 1937.

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Category:1896 births
Category:1937 deaths
Category:American chemists