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John Rex Whinfield

August 26, 2023

John Rex Whinfield CBE (16 February 1901 in Sutton, Surrey, England – 6 July 1966 in Dorking, Surrey)[1][2] was a British chemist. Together with James Tennant Dickson, Whinfield investigated polyesters and produced and patented the first polyester fibre in 1941, which they named Terylene (also known as Dacron) equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness and resilience.[1] He was born in Accrington, but moved out of town before the age of 4.[citation needed]

Education Edit

Whinfield attended Merchant Taylors' School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he read natural sciences (1921) and chemistry (1922).

Career Edit

He worked initially as an assistant to Charles Frederick Cross and Edward John Bevan, who had done earlier work on viscose rayon in 1892. In 1924 he was employed as a research chemist by the Calico Printers' Association based in Manchester.

During the late 1930s, the hunt was on for new synthetic fibres to rival Wallace H. Carothers' nylon. Whinfield and his assistant James Tennant Dickson investigated other types of polymers with textile fibre potential. Whinfield and Dickson discovered how to condense terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol to yield a new polymer which could be drawn into a fibre. Whinfield and Dickson patented their invention in July 1941,[3] but due to wartime secrecy restrictions, it was not made public until 1946.[4] ICI (Terylene) and DuPont (Dacron) went on to produce their own versions of the fibre.[5]

Whinfield served as an assistant director of chemical research in the Ministry of Supply during World War II. In 1947 he joined ICI.

The library in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York is named in memory of Whinfield.[6]

Awards Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ a b "World of Chemistry". Thomson Gale. 2005. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  2. ^ Allen, P C (1967). "Obituary". Chemistry in Britain.
  3. ^ "Polyester". Museum of Design in Plastics. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b Frank Greenaway, ‘Whinfield, John Rex (1901–1966)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 20 June 2011
  5. ^ "A Decade of PosiCharge". Chemplast Sanmar. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Department of Chemistry Library". University of York. Retrieved 22 May 2016.

August 26, 2023
john, whinfield, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Rex Whinfield news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Rex Whinfield CBE 16 February 1901 in Sutton Surrey England 6 July 1966 in Dorking Surrey 1 2 was a British chemist Together with James Tennant Dickson Whinfield investigated polyesters and produced and patented the first polyester fibre in 1941 which they named Terylene also known as Dacron equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness and resilience 1 He was born in Accrington but moved out of town before the age of 4 citation needed Contents 1 Education 2 Career 3 Awards 4 ReferencesEducation EditWhinfield attended Merchant Taylors School and Gonville and Caius College Cambridge where he read natural sciences 1921 and chemistry 1922 Career EditHe worked initially as an assistant to Charles Frederick Cross and Edward John Bevan who had done earlier work on viscose rayon in 1892 In 1924 he was employed as a research chemist by the Calico Printers Association based in Manchester During the late 1930s the hunt was on for new synthetic fibres to rival Wallace H Carothers nylon Whinfield and his assistant James Tennant Dickson investigated other types of polymers with textile fibre potential Whinfield and Dickson discovered how to condense terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol to yield a new polymer which could be drawn into a fibre Whinfield and Dickson patented their invention in July 1941 3 but due to wartime secrecy restrictions it was not made public until 1946 4 ICI Terylene and DuPont Dacron went on to produce their own versions of the fibre 5 Whinfield served as an assistant director of chemical research in the Ministry of Supply during World War II In 1947 he joined ICI The library in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York is named in memory of Whinfield 6 Awards EditCommander of the Order of the British Empire 1954 4 Honorary fellowship of the Textile Institute 1955 Perkin Medal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists 1956 References Edit a b World of Chemistry Thomson Gale 2005 Retrieved 1 November 2009 Allen P C 1967 Obituary Chemistry in Britain Polyester Museum of Design in Plastics Retrieved 12 August 2023 a b Frank Greenaway Whinfield John Rex 1901 1966 rev Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 accessed 20 June 2011 A Decade of PosiCharge Chemplast Sanmar 13 July 2023 Retrieved 12 August 2023 Department of Chemistry Library University of York Retrieved 22 May 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Rex Whinfield amp oldid 1170006630, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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