|
Arnold Orville Beckman
Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of the pH meter, a device for measuring acidity (and alkalinity), later considered to have "revolutionized the study of chemistry and biology". He also developed the DU spectrophotometer, "probably the most important instrument ever developed towards the advancement of bioscience". Beckman funded the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, the first silicon transistor company in California, thus giving rise to Silicon Valley. After retirement, he and his wife Mabel (1900–1989) were numbered among the top philanthropists in the United States. Early life Beckman was born in Cullom, Illinois, a village of about 500 people in a farming community. He was the youngest son of George Beckman, a blacksmith, and his second wife Elizabeth Ellen Jewkes. He w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cullom, Illinois
Cullom is a village in Livingston County, Illinois, Livingston County, Illinois, United States. Cullom is situated twenty miles east of Pontiac, Illinois, Pontiac which is the county seat, and is one mile west of the Ford County, Illinois, Ford County line. The population was 555 at the 2010 census. History Cullom owes its beginning to the Illinois Central Railroad which reached the village in 1878. The location of the village was established by Frederick Hack who granted a 90 foot right of way across his farm and paid a cash bonus of $4000 to the railroad company. Hack platted and laid out the village and donated forty acres of land on which to build it. The village was named for Shelby Moore Cullom, 17th governor of Illinois. The story was that Mr. Hack wanted the town called Jeffrey after the man who was roadmaster of the Illinois Central Railroad at that time. Jeffrey wanted the town called Hack but he declined the honor. The two men then compromised and called it Cullom. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
