Thomas Midgley Jr.

<h2 id="early-life">Early life</h2>
Thomas Midgley Jr. was born in <a href="/facts/Beaver_Falls,_Pennsylvania/xgCeRuQb">Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania</a>, on May 18, 1889, the son of Hattie Louise (née Emerson) (1865 – 1950) and Thomas Midgley Sr. (1840 – 1934). His family had a history of inventing; his father was an inventor in the field of automobile tires while his maternal grandfather, James Emerson, invented the inserted tooth <a href="/facts/Saw/mh8PG7xy">saw</a>. He grew up in <a href="/facts/Columbus,_Ohio/mREa53Ub">Columbus, Ohio</a>, and graduated from <a href="/facts/Cornell_University/FGyXuXeI">Cornell University</a> in 1911 with a degree in mechanical engineering.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a>
Early on, Midgley had a penchant for finding useful applications for known substances. In high school, he used the chewed bark of the slippery elm trees to give baseballs a more curved trajectory, a practice professional players would later pick up. Later in life, he was known to always carry a copy of the periodic table, his main tool in the search for the substance that would mark his breakthrough invention.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>

<h2 id="career">Career</h2>
<h3>Leaded gasoline</h3>

In 1916, Midgley began working at <a href="/facts/General_Motors/rBgP3IRK">General Motors</a>. In December 1921, while working under the direction of <a href="/facts/Charles_F._Kettering/8kHdW5e7">Charles Kettering</a> at <a href="/facts/Delco_Electronics/aaYkjmJ4">Dayton Research Laboratories</a>, a subsidiary of General Motors, he discovered (after discarding <a href="/facts/Tellurium/v7QvfIvS">tellurium</a> due to the difficult-to-eradicate smell) that the addition of <a href="/facts/Tetraethyllead/M33pHTTX">tetraethyllead</a> (TEL) to gasoline prevented <a href="/facts/Engine_knocking/k9rhaaYD">knocking</a> in <a href="/facts/Internal_combustion_engine/Ju4BXzj0">internal combustion engines</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> The company named the substance "Ethyl", avoiding all mention of lead in reports and advertising. <a href="/facts/Petroleum_industry/xCKs0yQJ">Oil companies</a> and <a href="/facts/Automotive_industry/fGFKUIlA">automobile manufacturers</a> (especially General Motors, which owned the patent jointly filed by Kettering and Midgley) promoted the TEL additive as an inexpensive alternative superior to <a href="/facts/Ethanol/3lCLfBSP">ethanol</a> or <a href="/facts/Ethanol_fuel/E1m7CDM4">ethanol-blended fuels</a>, on which they could make very little profit.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> In December 1922, the <a href="/facts/American_Chemical_Society/Alf3uhaF">American Chemical Society</a> awarded Midgley the 1923 <a href="/facts/William_H._Nichols_Medal/eSeB90kc">Nichols Medal</a> for the "Use of Anti-Knock Compounds in Motor Fuels".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> This was the first of several major awards he earned during his career.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
In 1923, Midgley took a long vacation in <a href="/facts/Miami/L5FsgQcb">Miami</a> to cure himself of <a href="/facts/Lead_poisoning/STwlKj7c">lead poisoning</a>. He said, "I find that my lungs have been affected and that it is necessary to drop all work and get a large supply of fresh air."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> That year, General Motors created the General Motors Chemical Company (GMCC) to supervise the production of TEL by the <a href="/facts/DuPont/kCUfkJzE">DuPont</a> company. Kettering was elected as president with Midgley as vice president. However, after two deaths and several cases of lead poisoning at the TEL prototype plant in <a href="/facts/Dayton,_Ohio/U8kg5Tf1">Dayton, Ohio</a>, the staff at Dayton was said in 1924 to be "depressed to the point of considering giving up the whole tetraethyl lead program".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> Over the course of the next year, eight more people died at DuPont's plant in <a href="/facts/Deepwater,_New_Jersey/2VJIRmqK">Deepwater, New Jersey</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> In 1924, dissatisfied with the speed of DuPont's TEL production using the "<a href="/facts/Bromide/bHSfxGk1">bromide</a> process", General Motors and the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now known as <a href="/facts/ExxonMobil/0qXyFrM4">ExxonMobil</a>) created the <a href="/facts/Ethyl_Corporation/XuqJMGyJ">Ethyl Gasoline Corporation</a> to produce and market TEL. Ethyl Corporation built a new <a href="/facts/Chemical_plant/swCB2mEH">chemical plant</a> using a high-temperature <a href="/facts/Chloroethane/6DjUIuH7">ethyl chloride</a> process at the <a href="/facts/Bayway_Refinery/uyQWttA9">Bayway Refinery</a> in New Jersey.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> However, within the first two months of its operation, the new plant was plagued by more cases of lead poisoning, <a href="/facts/Hallucination/5eUvLcnp">hallucinations</a>, <a href="/facts/Insanity/nNNuS8IU">insanity</a>, and five deaths.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a>
The risks associated with <a href="/facts/Lead_poisoning/STwlKj7c">exposure to lead</a> have been known at least since the 2nd century BC,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> while efforts to limit lead's use date back to at least the 16th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a> Midgley experienced lead poisoning himself, and was warned about the risk of lead poisoning from TEL as early as 1922.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a> Midgley well knew the hazards of lead. He investigated whether the risks, both in production and use, could be managed. Testing on the exhaust was completed, which he used to support the idea that 1 part tetraethyl lead per 1300 of gasoline could safely be used.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a> After the initial worker exposures, controls were developed to allow the process to operate safely. Leaded gasoline use grew exponentially. The cumulative chronic impacts of environmental lead were grossly underestimated.
On October 30, 1924, Midgley participated in a <a href="/facts/News_conference/s4QAx3bb">press conference</a> to demonstrate the apparent safety of TEL, in which he poured TEL over his hands, placed a bottle of the chemical under his nose, and inhaled its <a href="/facts/Vapor/PLlojGug">vapor</a> for sixty seconds, declaring that he could do this every day without succumbing to any problems.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> However, the state of New Jersey ordered the Bayway plant to be closed a few days later, and Jersey Standard was forbidden to manufacture TEL again without state permission. Production was restarted in 1926 after intervention by the federal government. High-octane fuel, enabled by lead, was important to the military. Midgley later took a leave of absence from work after being diagnosed with lead poisoning.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a> He was relieved of his position as vice president of GMCC in April 1925, reportedly due to his inexperience in organizational matters, but he remained an employee of General Motors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a>

<h3>Freon</h3>
In the late 1920s, <a href="/facts/Air_conditioning/bK2sIKQd">air conditioning</a> and <a href="/facts/Refrigeration/Bs8HHbYd">refrigeration</a> systems employed compounds such as <a href="/facts/Ammonia/MtLtJFtz">ammonia</a> (NH3), <a href="/facts/Chloromethane/DvmeEgDS">chloromethane</a> (CH3Cl), <a href="/facts/Propane/E0b23KGh">propane</a>, <a href="/facts/Methyl_formate/cVvvNUNP">methyl formate</a> (HCO2CH3), and <a href="/facts/Sulfur_dioxide/jDK1fIDs">sulfur dioxide</a> (SO2) as <a href="/facts/Refrigerant/rI60t5zU">refrigerants</a>. Though effective, these were <a href="/facts/Toxicity/qa96rs60">toxic</a>, <a href="/facts/Flammability/1QexTQ4T">flammable</a> or <a href="/facts/Explosive_material/sUme5Pp8">explosive</a>. The <a href="/facts/Frigidaire/A8o6Ujhm">Frigidaire</a> division of General Motors, at that time a leading manufacturer of such systems, sought a non-toxic, non-flammable alternative to these refrigerants.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28">28</a>
Midgley, working with <a href="/facts/Albert_Leon_Henne/18HGA5w1">Albert Leon Henne</a>, soon narrowed his focus to alkyl halides (the combination of carbon chains and <a href="/facts/Halogen/YeFgWHeA">halogens</a>), which were known to be highly <a href="/facts/Volatility_(chemistry)/90r3ep6w">volatile</a> (a requirement for a refrigerant) and also <a href="/facts/Chemically_inert/oglbxzgk">chemically inert</a>. They eventually settled on the concept of <a href="/facts/Halogenation/vYrGVWcJ">incorporating fluorine</a> into a <a href="/facts/Hydrocarbon/Dcg95Ju5">hydrocarbon</a>. They rejected the assumption that such compounds would be toxic, believing that the stability of the <a href="/facts/Carbon%E2%80%93fluorine_bond/5owIII1f">carbon–fluorine bond</a> would be sufficient to prevent the release of <a href="/facts/Hydrogen_fluoride/XfQxlqR6">hydrogen fluoride</a> or other potential <a href="/facts/Chemical_decomposition/4X3oxvhb">breakdown products</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29">29</a> The team eventually synthesized <a href="/facts/Dichlorodifluoromethane/KdMmfral">dichlorodifluoromethane</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30">30</a> the first <a href="/facts/Chlorofluorocarbon/uLApxm7K">chlorofluorocarbon</a> (CFC), which they named "<a href="/facts/Freon/JkfAjIb9">Freon</a>".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31">31</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32">32</a> This compound is more commonly referred to today as "Freon 12", or "<a href="/facts/Dichlorodifluoromethane/KdMmfral">R12</a>".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33">33</a>
Freon and other CFCs soon largely replaced other refrigerants, but also had other applications. A notable example was their use as a propellant in <a href="/facts/Aerosol/X1jXFLp2">aerosol</a> products and <a href="/facts/Asthma/7GkJvxn3">asthma</a> inhalers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34">34</a> The <a href="/facts/Society_of_Chemical_Industry/2pXymNFk">Society of Chemical Industry</a> awarded Midgley the <a href="/facts/Perkin_Medal/TkHgB2hr">Perkin Medal</a> in 1937 for this work.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35">35</a> In 1941, the <a href="/facts/American_Chemical_Society/Alf3uhaF">American Chemical Society</a> gave Midgley its highest award, the <a href="/facts/Priestley_Medal/TFtIqexV">Priestley Medal</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36">36</a> This was followed by the <a href="/facts/Willard_Gibbs_Award/rDctWH5u">Willard Gibbs Award</a> in 1942. He also held two <a href="/facts/Honorary_degree/yVVgQ6Wt">honorary degrees</a> and was elected to the <a href="/facts/United_States_National_Academy_of_Sciences/M3oePVeG">United States National Academy of Sciences</a>. In 1944, he was elected president and chairman of the American Chemical Society.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37">37</a>

<h2 id="death">Death</h2>
In 1940, at the age of 51, Midgley contracted <a href="/facts/Polio/6dYyXUhE">polio</a> and was left severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to lift himself out of bed. On November 2, 1944, at the age of 55, he was found dead at his home in <a href="/facts/Worthington,_Ohio/JbL7Kvxp">Worthington, Ohio</a>. He had been <a href="/facts/List_of_inventors_killed_by_their_own_invention/p2Hz42AM">killed by his own device</a> after he became entangled in it and died of strangulation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38">38</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39">39</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40">40</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41">41</a> His death was ruled a suicide by the coroner.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42">42</a>
He left behind a widow, Carrie M. Reynolds from <a href="/facts/Delaware,_Ohio/Q220zHmz">Delaware, Ohio</a>, whom he had married on August 3, 1911.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43">43</a> 

<h2 id="legacy">Legacy</h2>
Midgley's legacy is tied in with the <a href="/facts/Environmental_degradation/MTI24T7B">negative environmental impact</a> of <a href="/facts/Tetraethyllead/M33pHTTX">leaded gasoline</a> and <a href="/facts/Freon/JkfAjIb9">freon</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44">44</a> <a href="/facts/Environmental_history/cpqmdRfN">Environmental historian</a> <a href="/facts/J._R._McNeill/9ppPnC33">J. R. McNeill</a> opined that Midgley "had more adverse impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45">45</a> and <a href="/facts/Bill_Bryson/u33NxHVk">Bill Bryson</a> remarked that Midgley possessed "an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46">46</a> <a href="/facts/Fred_Pearce/dyAdvS9w">Fred Pearce</a>, writing for <a href="/facts/New_Scientist/GE0SBrn0">New Scientist</a>, described Midgley as a "one-man environmental disaster".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47">47</a>
Use of leaded gasoline, which he invented, released large quantities of lead into the <a href="/facts/Atmosphere_of_Earth/FV97Am25">atmosphere</a> all over the world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48">48</a> High <a href="/facts/Lead_poisoning/STwlKj7c">atmospheric lead</a> levels have been linked with serious long-term health problems from childhood, including neurological impairment,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49">49</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50">50</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51">51</a> and with increased levels of violence and criminality in America<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52">52</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53">53</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54">54</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55">55</a> and around the world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56">56</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57">57</a> <a href="/facts/Time_(magazine)/N4FXc99l">Time</a> magazine included both leaded gasoline and CFCs on its list of "The 50 Worst Inventions".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:58" href="#fn:58">58</a>
Midgley died three decades before the <a href="/facts/Ozone_depletion/ssGWpcx3">ozone-depleting</a> and <a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas/HXaHqrT8">greenhouse gas</a> effects of <a href="/facts/Ozone_depletion/ssGWpcx3">CFCs in the atmosphere</a> became widely known.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:59" href="#fn:59">59</a> In 1987, the <a href="/facts/Montreal_Protocol/Hmf70BQK">Montreal Protocol</a> phased out the use of <a href="/facts/Chlorofluorocarbon/uLApxm7K">CFCs</a> like Freon.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:60" href="#fn:60">60</a>
The harm of leaded gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons have been framed as lessons in known unknowns and <a href="/facts/Unknown_unknowns/m68aS2g2">unknown unknowns</a>, respectively. When leaded gasoline was invented it was known that lead had harmful effects on human health in large quantities, and that leaded gasoline caused emissions of trace amounts of lead to the atmosphere, but it was not known whether those trace amounts had adverse effects. The existence of the ozone layer, however, and the potential for chlorofluorocarbons to harm it, was not known at the time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:61" href="#fn:61">61</a>
In 2024, it was announced that <a href="/facts/Terence_Winter/Dp7nfmht">Terence Winter</a> – writer of 2013's <a href="/facts/The_Wolf_of_Wall_Street_(2013_film)/wyS36GTE">The Wolf of Wall Street</a> – has co-written a feature film about Midgley entitled Midge.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:62" href="#fn:62">62</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:63" href="#fn:63">63</a>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>Tim Harford (November 11, 2022). <a href="https://timharford.com/2022/11/cautionary-tales-the-inventor-who-almost-ended-the-world/">"Cautionary Tales–The inventor who almost ended the world"</a> (Podcast).</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230315182035/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/magazine/cfcs-inventor.html?campaign_id=61&emc=edit_ts_20230315&instance_id=87762&nl=the-great-read®i_id=58413496&segment_id=127851&te=1&user_id=80cf60cec3adc1d45fcb7c0a94e1fe11">The Brilliant Inventor Who Made Two of History’s Biggest Mistakes</a>. Stephen Johnson, <a href="/facts/New_York_Times_Magazine/AQhGYeFC">New York Times Magazine</a>, March 15, 2023.</li>
<li>Midgley–Man of Marvels, <a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88063294/1945-03-25/ed-1/seq-72/">(page 1 of 2)</a>, <a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88063294/1945-03-25/ed-1/seq-73/">(page 2 of 2)</a>. <a href="/facts/Charles_F._Kettering/8kHdW5e7">Charles F. Kettering</a>, <a href="/facts/The_American_Weekly/sr3xrn00">The American Weekly</a>, <a href="/facts/Hearst_Corporation/rgMl3gAP">Hearst Corporation</a>, March 25, 1945.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li>Midgley, T. (1942). "A Critical Examination of Some Concepts in Rubber Chemistry". <a href="/facts/Science_(journal)/uTyzjkwD">Science</a>. 96 (2485): 143–6. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1942Sci....96..143M">1942Sci....96..143M</a>. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.96.2485.143">10.1126/science.96.2485.143</a>. <a href="/facts/PMID_(identifier)/JlHAvMHt">PMID</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17833986">17833986</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121015120545/http://books.nap.edu/html/biomems/tmidgley.pdf">Biographical Memoir by Charles F. Kettering</a> at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> (archived October 15, 2012)</li>
<li>Giunta, Carmen J. (2006). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160423012402/http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/bulletin_open_access/v31-2/v31-2%20p66-74.pdf">"Thomas Midgley Jr. and the Invention of Chlorofluorocarbon Refrigerants"</a> (PDF). <a href="/facts/Bulletin_for_the_History_of_Chemistry/weq0w66c">Bulletin for the History of Chemistry</a>. 31 (2): 66–74. Archived from <a href="http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/bulletin_open_access/v31-2/v31-2%20p66-74.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on April 23, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2012.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV3dnLzthDA">The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History</a> (video by YouTube producer <a href="/facts/Derek_Muller/ewhUeMk9">Derek Muller</a> on Thomas Midgley Jr., April 2022)</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Thomas Midgley, Jr". invent.org. National Inventors Hall of Fame. May 17, 2023. <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr" target="_blank">https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Kitman, Jamie Lincoln (March 2, 2000), "The Secret History of Lead", The Nation, ISSN 0027-8378, retrieved October 19, 2024 <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Thomas Midgley, Jr". invent.org. National Inventors Hall of Fame. May 17, 2023. <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr" target="_blank">https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Kettering, Charles F. "Thomas Midgley Jr. 1889–1944" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs. 24. National Academy of Sciences: 359–380. <a href="/wiki/Charles_F._Kettering" target="_blank">/wiki/Charles_F._Kettering</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Prisco, Jacopo (May 24, 2024). "Once celebrated, an inventor's breakthroughs are now viewed as disasters — and the world is still recovering". cnn.com. Cable News Network. Retrieved May 27, 2024. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Loeb, A.P., "Birth of the Kettering Doctrine: Fordism, Sloanism and Tetraethyl Lead," Business and Economic History, Vol. 24, No. 2, Fall 1995. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Jacobson, Mark Z. (2002). Atmospheric pollution : history, science, and regulation. Cambridge University Press. pp. 75–80. ISBN 0521010446. <a href="0521010446" target="_blank">0521010446</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Kovarik, William (2005). "Ethyl-leaded gasoline: How a classic occupational disease became an international public health disaster" (PDF). International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 11 (4): 384–397. doi:10.1179/oeh.2005.11.4.384. PMID 16350473. S2CID 44633845. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165801/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5ef4/a42a4a5940ef6adf04aa1912147097aa3363.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165801/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5ef4/a42a4a5940ef6adf04aa1912147097aa3363.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Kitman, Jamie Lincoln (March 2, 2000), "The Secret History of Lead", The Nation, ISSN 0027-8378, retrieved October 19, 2024 <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Nichols Medalists <a href="http://newyorkacs.org/nicholsmedalists.html" target="_blank">http://newyorkacs.org/nicholsmedalists.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Thomas Midgley, Jr". invent.org. National Inventors Hall of Fame. May 17, 2023. <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr" target="_blank">https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Kovarik, Bill. "Charles F. Kettering and the 1921 Discovery of Tetraethyl Lead In the Context of Technological Alternatives", presented to the Society of Automotive Engineers Fuels & Lubricants Conference, Baltimore, Maryland., 1994; revised in 1999. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Kovarik, William (2005). "Ethyl-leaded gasoline: How a classic occupational disease became an international public health disaster" (PDF). International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 11 (4): 384–397. doi:10.1179/oeh.2005.11.4.384. PMID 16350473. S2CID 44633845. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165801/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5ef4/a42a4a5940ef6adf04aa1912147097aa3363.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165801/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5ef4/a42a4a5940ef6adf04aa1912147097aa3363.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Kovarik, Bill. "Charles F. Kettering and the 1921 Discovery of Tetraethyl Lead In the Context of Technological Alternatives", presented to the Society of Automotive Engineers Fuels & Lubricants Conference, Baltimore, Maryland., 1994; revised in 1999. <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Kovarik, Bill. "Charles F. Kettering and the 1921 Discovery of Tetraethyl Lead In the Context of Technological Alternatives", presented to the Society of Automotive Engineers Fuels & Lubricants Conference, Baltimore, Maryland., 1994; revised in 1999. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Kitman, Jamie Lincoln (March 2, 2000), "The Secret History of Lead", The Nation, ISSN 0027-8378, retrieved October 19, 2024 <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Dapul H, Laraque D (August 2014). "Lead poisoning in children". Advances in Pediatrics. 61 (1): 313–33. doi:10.1016/j.yapd.2014.04.004. PMID 25037135. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">Needleman H (2004). "Lead poisoning". Annual Review of Medicine. 55: 209–22. doi:10.1146/annurev.med.55.091902.103653. PMID 14746518. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Dapul H, Laraque D (August 2014). "Lead poisoning in children". Advances in Pediatrics. 61 (1): 313–33. doi:10.1016/j.yapd.2014.04.004. PMID 25037135. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Needleman, Herbert L.; Gunnoe, Charles; Leviton, Alan; Reed, Robert; Peresie, Henry; Maher, Cornelius; Barrett, Peter (March 29, 1979). "Deficits in Psychologic and Classroom Performance of Children with Elevated Dentine Lead Levels". New England Journal of Medicine. 300 (13): 689–695. doi:10.1056/NEJM197903293001301. PMID 763299. Retrieved November 17, 2020. <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM197903293001301" target="_blank">https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM197903293001301</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Seyferth, Dietmar (December 1, 2003). "The Rise and Fall of Tetraethyllead. 2". Organometallics. 22 (25): 5154–5178. doi:10.1021/om030621b. and (Erratum: doi:10.1021/om0343925) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fom030621b" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fom030621b</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Midgley, Thomas (August 1, 1925). "Tetraethyl Lead Poison Hazards". Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 17 (8): 827–828. doi:10.1021/ie50188a020. After mixing tetraethyl lead with gasoline, no great precaution need be exercised, the ratio being 1 part tetraethyl lead to 1300 of gasoline. From this point on no health hazards actually exist unless the gasoline is used very abnormally for purposes for which it was not intended. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Kitman, Jamie Lincoln (March 2, 2000), "The Secret History of Lead", The Nation, ISSN 0027-8378, retrieved October 19, 2024 <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">Markowitz, Gerald and Rosner, David. Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2002 <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">Prisco, Jacopo (May 24, 2024). "Once celebrated, an inventor's breakthroughs are now viewed as disasters — and the world is still recovering". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2024. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">The Poisoner's Handbook Archived December 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine American Experience at 51:48 January 2014 <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poisoners/player/" target="_blank">https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poisoners/player/</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">Kitman, Jamie Lincoln (March 2, 2000), "The Secret History of Lead", The Nation, ISSN 0027-8378, retrieved October 19, 2024 <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">Sneader, Walter (2005). "Chapter 8: Systematic medicine". Drug discovery: a history. Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons. pp. 74–87. ISBN 978-0-471-89980-8. Retrieved September 13, 2010. <a href="978-0-471-89980-8" target="_blank">978-0-471-89980-8</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">Sneader, Walter (2005). "Chapter 8: Systematic medicine". Drug discovery: a history. Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons. pp. 74–87. ISBN 978-0-471-89980-8. Retrieved September 13, 2010. <a href="978-0-471-89980-8" target="_blank">978-0-471-89980-8</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:30">Midgley, Thomas; Henne, Albert L. (1930). "Organic Fluorides as Refrigerants1". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 22 (5): 542. doi:10.1021/ie50245a031. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:31">Sneader, Walter (2005). "Chapter 8: Systematic medicine". Drug discovery: a history. Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons. pp. 74–87. ISBN 978-0-471-89980-8. Retrieved September 13, 2010. <a href="978-0-471-89980-8" target="_blank">978-0-471-89980-8</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:32">Thompson, R. J. (1932). "Freon, a Refrigerant". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 24 (6): 620–623. doi:10.1021/ie50270a008. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:33">Garrett, Alfred B. (1962). "Freon: Thomas Midgley and Albert L. Henne". Journal of Chemical Education. 39 (7): 361. Bibcode:1962JChEd..39..361G. doi:10.1021/ed039p361. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:34">Andersen, Stephen O.; Halberstadt, Marcel L.; Borgford-Parnell, Nathan (2013). "Stratospheric ozone, global warming, and the principle of unintended consequences—An ongoing science and policy success story". Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 63 (6): 607–647. Bibcode:2013JAWMA..63..607A. doi:10.1080/10962247.2013.791349. PMID 23858990 – via Taylor & Francis Online. CFCs and HCFCs rapidly replaced other refrigerants in all but applications where companies accepted the increased risk of flammable and toxic refrigerant releases or in applications where the existing technologies were more energy efficient. <a href="/wiki/Stephen_O._Andersen" target="_blank">/wiki/Stephen_O._Andersen</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:35">"Will Award Perkin Medal Jan. 8 to Thomas Midgley, Jr". Refrigerating Engineering. 33 (1): 54. January 1937 – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=WpQpAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA54" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=WpQpAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA54</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:36">The Priestley Medalists, 1923-2008 – American Chemical Society <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121719/https://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/86/8614acsnews3.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121719/https://pubs.acs.org/cen/acsnews/86/8614acsnews3.html</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:37">"Thomas Midgley, Jr". invent.org. National Inventors Hall of Fame. May 17, 2023. <a href="https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr" target="_blank">https://www.invent.org/inductees/thomas-midgley-jr</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:38">Bryson, Bill (2004) [First published 2003]. A Short History of Nearly Everything (Black Swan paperback ed.). Transworld Publishers. p. 196. ISBN 0-552-99704-8. <a href="0-552-99704-8" target="_blank">0-552-99704-8</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:40">Milestones, Nov. 13, 1944 Time, November 13, 1944. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081214232532/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801605,00.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081214232532/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801605,00.html</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:41">Giunta, Carmen (2006). "Thomas Midgley, Jr., and The Invention of Chlorofluorocarbon Refrigerants: It Ain't Necessarily So" (PDF). Bulletin for the History of Chemistry. 31 (2): 66–74. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2023. <a href="http://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/v31-2/v31-2%20p66-74.pdf" target="_blank">http://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/v31-2/v31-2%20p66-74.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:42">"Midgley's Death Termed Suicide". Dayton Herald (Ohio). November 10, 1944. p. 28. Retrieved May 26, 2024. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dayton-herald-obituary-for-thomas-m/148129966/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-dayton-herald-obituary-for-thomas-m/148129966/</a> <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:43">Kettering, Charles F. "Thomas Midgley Jr. 1889–1944" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs. 24. National Academy of Sciences: 359–380. <a href="/wiki/Charles_F._Kettering" target="_blank">/wiki/Charles_F._Kettering</a> <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:46">Bryson, Bill (2004) [First published 2003]. A Short History of Nearly Everything (Black Swan paperback ed.). Transworld Publishers. p. 195. ISBN 0-552-99704-8. <a href="0-552-99704-8" target="_blank">0-552-99704-8</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:58">Gentilviso, Chris (May 27, 2010). "The 50 Worst Inventions: Leaded Gasoline". Time. Retrieved February 1, 2018. <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1991915_1991909_1991817,00.html" target="_blank">https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1991915_1991909_1991817,00.html</a> <a href="#fnref:58" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
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<li id="fn:60">Climate change: 'Monumental' deal to cut HFCs, fastest growing greenhouse gases <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37665529" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37665529</a> <a href="#fnref:60" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:61">Johnson, Steven (March 15, 2023). "The Brilliant Inventor Who Made Two of History's Biggest Mistakes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240718071439/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/magazine/cfcs-inventor.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240718071439/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/magazine/cfcs-inventor.html</a> <a href="#fnref:61" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:62">"Midge". IMDb.com. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved May 27, 2024. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31322301/reference/" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31322301/reference/</a> <a href="#fnref:62" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:63">Prisco, Jacopo (May 24, 2024). "Once celebrated, an inventor's breakthroughs are now viewed as disasters — and the world is still recovering". cnn.com. Cable News Network. Retrieved May 27, 2024. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/24/world/thomas-midgley-jr-leaded-gas-freon-scn/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:63" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Thomas Midgley Jr. open-in-new

Thomas Midgley Jr.