John Rex Whinfield facts for kids
John Rex Whinfield (born February 16, 1901 – died July 6, 1966) was a clever British chemist. He was born in Sutton, England. With his colleague James Tennant Dickson, he invented a super strong new fabric. They called it Terylene, also known as Dacron. This new fibre was as tough as or even tougher than nylon. It was a big discovery!
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Early Life and Education
John Rex Whinfield went to Merchant Taylors' School. After that, he studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He learned about natural sciences and chemistry there. He finished his studies in 1922.
Working as a Chemist
Whinfield started his career helping other scientists. He worked with Charles Frederick Cross and Edward John Bevan. They had already done important work on viscose rayon. In 1924, he became a research chemist. He joined the Calico Printers' Association in Manchester.
Inventing Terylene
In the late 1930s, scientists were looking for new man-made fibres. They wanted to create something as good as or better than Wallace H. Carothers' nylon. Whinfield and his assistant, James Tennant Dickson, joined this search. They looked at different types of polymers.
They found a way to combine two chemicals. These were terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. This mix created a new polymer. This polymer could be pulled into a strong fibre.
Whinfield and Dickson got a patent for their invention in July 1941. However, World War II was happening. Because of wartime secrecy, their discovery was kept secret. It was not announced to the public until 1946. Later, big companies started making their own versions. ICI made Terylene. DuPont made Dacron.
War Work and Later Career
During World War II, Whinfield helped the government. He worked as an assistant director. He was in the chemical research department of the Ministry of Supply. In 1947, he joined ICI.
Today, a library is named after him. It is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York.
Awards and Recognition
John Rex Whinfield received several important awards for his work:
- He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1954.
- He received an honorary fellowship from the Textile Institute in 1955.
- He won the Perkin Medal in 1956. This award came from the Society of Dyers and Colourists.
