George Oenslager (September 25, 1873 – February 5, 1956) was a Goodrich

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 t ...

who discovered that a derivative of

aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starti ...

accelerated the

vulcanization Vulcanization (British: Vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to includ ...

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...

with sulfur. He first introduced

carbon black Carbon black (subtypes are acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal and coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid ...

as a rubber reinforcing agent in 1912.

Biography

Oenslager attended Harrisburg & Phillips Exeter Academies, AB 1894, AM 1896. He first worked for the Warren Paper Co. in Maine from 1896 until 1905. He then worked for the Diamond & B.F. Goodrich Rubber Companies from 1905 until 1940. In 1912, Oenslager was working with David Spence at Diamond Rubber on additives to improve the vulcanization process. Working off of Oenslager's aniline additives, Spence discovered that p-aminodimethylaniline was a far superior accelerator, vastly improving the tensile strength of the rubber. ''para''-aminodimethylaniline was adopted as the accelerator of choice by the Diamond Rubber Company in 1912. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Oenslager inflated the first hydrogen balloon in the US. Oenslager received his Ph.D. from Harvard under Prof.

Theodore William Richards Theodore William Richards (January 31, 1868 – April 2, 1928) was the first American scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, earning the award "in recognition of his exact determinations of the atomic weights of a large number of the ...

. He was awarded the

Perkin Medal The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the ...

in 1933 for his discovery of organic accelerators, specifically thiocarbanilide. This development crucial to the commercialization of both natural and synthetic rubber. Oenslager was awarded the

Charles Goodyear Medal The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, and consists of a gold medal, a framed ...

in 1948. He was married to Ruth Alderfer Oenslager.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oenslager, George American chemists 1873 births 1956 deaths Polymer scientists and engineers Harvard University alumni