Julian W. Hill (1904-1996) was an American chemist who helped develop

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...

Early life

Julian W. Hill was born in 1904, and he grew up in

Warrenton, Missouri Warrenton is a city in Warren County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,880 according to the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County. Warrenton is an exurb of St. Louis, and is located in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statis ...

. He graduated from the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in 1924, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and he went on to earn a PhD in organic chemistry from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1928.

Career

Hill joined DuPont, where he worked as a chemist in the Experimental Station laboratories under Wallace H. Carothers's supervision. He initially studied

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

s in the 1920s. By 1930, he had used a

cold drawing Drawing is a metalworking process that uses tension (physics), tensile forces to stretch (elongate) metal, glass, or plastic. As the metal is drawn (pulled), it stretches to become thinner, to achieve a desired shape and thickness. Drawing is cl ...

method to produce a polyester.Wallace Carothers and the Development of Nylon
ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark Hill's cold drawing method was used by Carothers in 1934 to develop the

polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through ...

later named

, which was patented by DuPont and was a greater commercial success due to its higher melting point. Hill was promoted to Assistant Director of the Chemical Department. He also served on DuPont's steering committee from 1932 to 1951. He became the Chair of DuPont's Committee on Educational Aid in 1951, and he helped fund academic programs in the United States until his retirement in 1964.

Personal life and death

Hill married Mary Louisa "Polly" Butcher, a

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

alumna, in 1931. They had two sons and a daughter. He suffered from poliomyelitis. He retired at the Cokesbury Village retirement village in

Hockessin, Delaware Hockessin () is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 13,527 at the 2010 census. History Hockessin came into existence as a little village in 1688 when several families settled in the a ...

with his wife, where he died on January 29, 1996.

References

1904 births 1996 deaths People from St. Louis McKelvey School of Engineering alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni 20th-century American chemists People with polio DuPont people People from Warrenton, Missouri Chemists from Missouri {{US-chemist-stub