William Duncan McNally (July 8, 1882 – June 29, 1961) was the chief chemist in the Cook County Department of Public Health and the chief chemist for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. He invented an early

breathalyzer A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample. The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...

in 1927. He was a holder of

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

Biography

William Duncan McNally was born on July 8, 1882 in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

to Elizabeth and Edward Henry McNally. He graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1905. He married Helen Marie Pierce on September 22, 1906 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. By 1911 he was working as a chemist at

Armour and Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most ...

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...

. By 1918 he was the toxicologist for the Cook County Department of Public Health.William Duncan McNally in the World War I draft registration He invented an early

in 1927. He died on June 29, 1961 in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

Works

''Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology''
(1939)

(1937)

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNally, William Duncan 1882 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American chemists American toxicologists People from Saginaw, Michigan University of Michigan alumni People from Chicago Breathalyzer 20th-century American inventors