Jacques E. Brandenberger

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Jacques Edwin Brandenberger (born October 19, 1872 in Zurich ; † July 13, 1954 there ) was a Swiss chemist and textile engineer who invented cellophane in 1908 .

Life

Brandenberger studied chemistry at the philosophical faculty of the University of Bern and received his doctorate in a very short time at the age of 22 and the highest distinction summa cum laude . At the time, he was the youngest doctor of chemistry in Switzerland.

He went to France and worked as a dye expert for textile mills in Normandy and in Remiremont . In 1904 he worked for Blanchisserie et Teinturerie de Thaon. In 1908 the first machine for the production of dense cellophane from cellulose was developed. He transferred his patents in 1917 to his company "La Cellophane SA", founded in 1913 in Bezons , Val-d'Oise , France. The brand name Cellophane originated from the French words “cellulose” and “diaphane” (transparent). In 1923 Du Pont and La Cellophane SA formed a joint venture to cover the US market. Until the 1950s, Brandenberger received numerous patents for manufacturing processes and applications for its transparent films. Since the first patents for the production of foils had already expired in the 1920s, other chemical companies around the world also produced cellophane .

The worldwide economic success of cellophane formed the cornerstone of the considerable fortune that Jacques E. Brandenberger bequeathed to his daughter Irma Marthe Brandenberger. In 2006 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame .

Foundation, endowment

On December 9, 1965, Marthe Brandenberger established the Dr. JE Brandenberger , which was entered in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich after her death in 1986 . Every year since 1990, the foundation has honored outstanding Swiss personalities who have made outstanding contributions to humanitarian culture, social progress or raising living standards.

The prize, endowed with CHF 200,000 (approx. € 135,000), is one of the most highly endowed prizes in Switzerland and is awarded by the Board of Trustees at the request of a prize committee made up of renowned representatives from scientific, social and cultural bodies.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Inventors and Inventions . Marshall Cavendish, 2007, ISBN 0-7614-7763-2 , pp. 166 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ Stephen Fenichell: Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century . ISBN 0-88730-732-9 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  3. ^ The History of Cellophane , inventors.about.com
  4. ↑ Invent Now - Hall of Fame: Jacques Brandenberger ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.invent.org
personal data
SURNAME Brandenberger, Jacques E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brandenberger, Jacques Edwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss chemist and cellophane inventor
DATE OF BIRTH October 19, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH July 13, 1954
Place of death Zurich