Thomas Midgley Jr.

Thomas Midgley Jr. (1889–1944) was an American engineer and chemist who developed tetraethyl lead for gasoline and helped develop chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants.

Tetraethyllead: An organolead compound once widely added to gasoline to suppress engine knocking. Midgley helped develop it as a fuel additive; its use spread lead pollution.
Engine knocking: Abnormal combustion in a spark-ignition engine that produces pressure waves and metallic knocking sounds. Suppressing this problem was the practical goal of adding tetraethyllead to gasoline.
General Motors: An American automotive corporation founded in 1908. Midgley conducted much of his industrial research within the company and its affiliated laboratories.
Charles Franklin Kettering: An American inventor and industrial researcher known for automotive innovations and leadership at General Motors. He collaborated with and mentored Midgley; this is the full-name form of the colleague central to his career.
Ethanol fuel: A fuel made from ethanol, commonly blended with gasoline for use in spark-ignition engines. Ethanol was among the alternatives considered for raising fuel performance without adding lead.
Lead poisoning: Illness and neurological damage caused by exposure to lead. Tetraethyllead exposure made the health costs of Midgley’s fuel additive consequential.
Octane rating: A measure of gasoline’s resistance to premature ignition in an engine. Lead additives increased fuel’s resistance to knocking, improving performance in engines.
Charles Kettering: An American inventor and engineer who led research at General Motors and founded Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company. Kettering recruited Midgley and directed the research environment behind his major inventions.
Alice Hamilton: An American physician and pioneer of occupational medicine who investigated industrial toxic exposures. Hamilton publicly challenged the safety claims surrounding tetraethyllead and warned of lead hazards.
Methyl tert-butyl ether: An oxygen-containing gasoline additive formerly used to raise octane and reduce engine knocking. MTBE became one substitute for leaded gasoline before its own environmental drawbacks restricted use.

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