Charles Benjamin Dudley (July 14, 1842 – December 21, 1909) was a

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chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

who was an early proponent of

standardisation Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...

in industry. Dudley was born in

Oxford, New York Oxford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Chenango County, New York, Chenango County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town contains a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village also named Oxford (villa ...

, and owing to family circumstances, had to wait until 1867 before he could enter

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, supporting himself as a night editor on the '' New Haven Palladium''

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

. He eventually earned a

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from the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, ...

. non.(2001) In 1875, he became a chemist for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

and started to investigate the chemical composition and

metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

structure of

rail tracks A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

, breakage being a major hazard at that time. He discovered enormous variation in the properties and quality of steel and the 1878 publication of his results caused an uproar in the steel industry, who saw it as their sole domain to determine the quality of their products for sale. Dudley championed the development of the company and industry standards and demanded rigorous testing of materials to verify conformity. He developed a complete range of standards for the Pennsylvania Railroad, not only for steel, but also for

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

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paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

s, and even

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s. In 1879, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. In 1898, he was one of the founders of the

American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...

(ASTM), becoming president from 1902 to 1908. non.(1926) ''

New International Encyclopedia ''The New International Encyclopedia'' was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the ''International Cyclopaedia'' (1884) and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926. History ''The New Intern ...

'' He died in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

Honours

*Member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

; *President of the ASTM, (1902-1909).

References

Bibliography

* non.(2001) "Dudley, Charles Benjamin", ''

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'', Deluxe Edition CD-ROM *Dudley, C. B. (1878) "The chemical composition and physical properties of steel rails", ''Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Charles Benjamin 1842 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American chemists Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni People from Oxford, New York Scientists from New York (state) Yale College alumni 20th-century American chemists