Forget King Kong, Godzilla, and Jaws. Disregard Genghis Khan, Vlad the Impaler, and Ivan the Terrible. It is Thomas Midgley Jr. who can claim the rather dubious honour of being the most destructive being that ever lived.
I’m sure he never intended to hold this position, in fact I’m pretty convinced he only wanted to act for the benefit of mankind, but nevertheless he has caused a great deal of damage.
Thomas was born Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania in 1889. His father, Thomas Midgley Sr. was an inventor and Jr. wanted to follow in his footsteps. He enrolled in Cornell University and graduated in 1911 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
He went to work at General Motors where he was placed in charge of investigating ways in which to reduce the annoying and ultimately destructive “knocking†within the cylinders of the internal combustion engine. By a process of trial and error Thomas discovered that adding lead to petrol reduced the temperature and pressure within the cylinder, therefore suppressing the knock. General Motors aggressively marketed this new type of fuel and leaded petrol soon became the industry standard.
The process of adding lead to fuel was very toxic, and a number of workers at production facilities died of lead poisoning. This pales in significance however when compared to the global impact that leaded petrol has had on the quality of our air. It is estimated that as many as 5,000 people in the USA alone died every year from lead-related heart disease prior to leaded petrol’s phaseout in 1986. One study claimed that lead pollution damaged the intelligence of 10% of British children, rising to 17% in USA and it was conservatively estimated that a total of about 68 million young children had toxic exposures to lead from gasoline between 1927 and 1987.
Not the best invention in the world then.
In 1930 Thomas Midgley Jr turned his attention from cars to fridges. Seeking to replace the various toxic or explosive chemicals that were then used for refrigeration Thomas came up with dichlorodifluoromethane, better known as CFCs.
As you know, CFCs are thought to be the main cause of the hole in the ozone layer, which if it continues to expand unchecked will expose the earth and everyone on it to highly harmful carcinogenic UV rays.
Again, not the most beneficial invention to grace the earth.
In 1941 at the age of 51 Thomas Midgley Jr contracted Polio, a condition that left him severely disabled. In order to cope with his disability Thomas invented an intricate system of ropes and pulleys to help lift him out of bed. In 1944 he became entangled in his device’s mechanisms and strangled himself to death.
Three strikes and you’re out.
You’ve been on Wikipedia, right?
Also, this book “http://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/0552997048″ is really good if you’re interested in the explanation of everyday phenomenon in lay-scientific terms.
Although I find the manner of Mr Bryson deeply annoying, he can be a pretty good author.
Yes, I must admit that the mighty Wikipeadia has had a few hits from me today. I originally became aware of Thomas Midgley Jr’s existence from an episode of QI a few weeks ago. They managed to be a lot more entertaining about him than I did.
I read A short history of nearly everything a couple of years ago, but I can’t remember a thing now, I’ll have to revisit it. I’ve got a thing for “interesting facts” at the moment. For example: Bill Bryson was given an OBE yesterday. Damn I’m good!
thanks for the gift tip, Dan! although, my oldest son claims to know nearly everything already.
What a fascinating read! I had no idea this guy was from my hometown…nor was I aware of all of the damage that lead has caused. Thanks for the post.