Crawford H. Greenewalt

Crawford Hallock Greenewalt, Sr. (born August 16, 1902 in Cummington , Maine , † September 27, 1993 in Stanton , Delaware ) was an American chemist, industrial manager ( DuPont ), animal photographer and hobby ornithologist .

Greenewalt earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1922 and worked for DuPont that same year. Here he made a contribution to the synthesis of ammonium under high pressure conditions. In the 1930s he headed DuPont's nylon project. During World War II , he served as DuPont's liaison engineer on the Manhattan Project . He witnessed the first controlled nuclear fission in 1942 at the University of Chicago . Even after the war he was responsible for DuPont's nuclear program.

From 1948 to 1962 Greenewalt was a board member and from 1962 to 1967 chairman of the chemical giant. In 1988 he retired. He was considered an important figure in the tension between US business and science in the Cold War era . Among other things, he was president of the American Philosophical Society and from 1951 he was a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Greenewalt was a passionate hobby ornithologist and animal photographer. Together with Harold E. Edgerton and several DuPont engineers, he developed an apparatus for high-speed photography . With his ultra-fast recordings of the hummingbird flight, he was able to contribute significantly to its research and to bird flight in general.

Crawfor Greenewalt has received numerous awards. In 1951 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , in 1952 a member of the National Academy of Sciences , 1954 of the American Philosophical Society and 1962 of the American Ornithologists' Union . In 1952 he received the Chemical Industry Medal of the Society of Chemical Industry , in 1959 the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal , in 1962 the Society Medal and Lecture of the Society of Chemical Industry and the John Fritz Medal of the American Association of Engineering Societies and in 1990 the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distintinguished Achievement in the Humanities or Sciences from the American Philosophical Society. In 1961 a subspecies of the velvet- bellied hummingbird , the Lafresnaya lafresnayi greenewalti , was named after him. Greenewalt has received more than 20 honorary doctorates .

Greenewalt was married to Margaretta Lamot du Pont († 1991) since 1926. The couple had three children. One son, Crawford H. Greenewalt, Jr. (1937–2012), was an archaeologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley . Crawford H. Greenewalt died of a stroke at the age of 91 .

Fonts

The uncommon Man , 1959
- German translation: To the future of industry , Econ 1960
Hummingbirds , 1960
Dimensional relationships for flying animals , 1962
Bird Song: Acoustics and Physiology , 1968

Sources and References

literature

In memoriam: Crawford H. Greenewalt, 1902-1993. In: The Auk , Volume 111 (1994), pp. 188-189 ( PDF, 90 kB ).

Web links

Crawford Greenewalt's Interview at Voices of the Manhattan Project (manhattanprojectvoices.org)
Crawford Greenewalt photograph collection at the Hagley Museum (hagley.org)
Crawford Greenewalt of DuPont Dies at MIT News (mit.edu)

Individual evidence

^ Vance A. Tucker: Greenewalt on Bird Flight. In: The Auk , Volume 93, 1976, pp. 848-854 ( PDF, 378 kB ).
↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter G. (PDF; 931 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
^ Crawford Greenewalt. In: nasonline.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
^ American Philosophical Society - Member History at the American Philosophical Society (amphilsoc.org); accessed on September 2, 2017.
^ Chemical Industry Medal. In: soci.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
^ American Institute of Chemists - Gold Medal Awards. In: theaic.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
^ Society Medal and Lecture. In: soci.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
↑ Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distintinguished Achievement in the Humanities or Sciences: 1985 to 1991. In: amphilsoc.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .
^ William Henry Phelps, William Henry Phelps, Jr .: Notes on Veenezuelan birds and description of a new subspecies of Trochilidae . In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . tape 74 , 1961, pp. 3–6 ( online [accessed August 12, 2017]).

personal data
SURNAME	Greenewalt, Crawford H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Greenewalt, Crawford Hallock; Greenewalt, Crawford
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American chemist, industry manager, wildlife photographer, and amateur ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH	August 16, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cummington , Maine
DATE OF DEATH	September 27, 1993
Place of death	Stanton , Delaware

[1] Vance A. Tucker: Greenewalt on Bird Flight. In: The Auk , Volume 93, 1976, pp. 848-854 ( PDF, 378 kB ).

[2] Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter G. (PDF; 931 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved August 12, 2017 .

[3] Crawford Greenewalt. In: nasonline.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .

[4] American Philosophical Society - Member History at the American Philosophical Society (amphilsoc.org); accessed on September 2, 2017.

[5] Chemical Industry Medal. In: soci.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .

[6] American Institute of Chemists - Gold Medal Awards. In: theaic.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .

[7] Society Medal and Lecture. In: soci.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .

[amphilso-8591-8] Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distintinguished Achievement in the Humanities or Sciences: 1985 to 1991. In: amphilsoc.org. Retrieved August 12, 2017 .

[9] William Henry Phelps, William Henry Phelps, Jr .: Notes on Veenezuelan birds and description of a new subspecies of Trochilidae . In: Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . tape 74 , 1961, pp. 3–6 ( online [accessed August 12, 2017]).