Coolidge, William David

Coolidge, William David, 1873–1975, American physical chemist, b. Hudson, Mass., grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1896. He joined the General Electric Company in 1905 and served as director of its research laboratory (1932–40) and as vice president and director of research (1940–44). He made special studies of X rays, invented an X-ray tube, and invented and developed ductile tungsten.

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Coolidge, William David (1873–1975) physical chemist; born in Hudson, Mass. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1896) and received his Ph.D at Leipzig (1899). He worked at General Electric, beginning in 1905 as a research physical chemist, then succeeding Willis Whitney as director of research in 1932; he became a vice-president in 1940. In 1910, he invented a process for the production of carbon-free tungsten filament, which revolutionized the production of light bulbs. His experiments with tungsten led to his most significant invention, the X-ray tube (which became known as the Coolidge tube), as well as to the tungsten target in X-ray machines. During World War I, he assisted in the production of X-ray equipment for the army and later in the development of submarine detectors. During World War II, he advised the government on the feasibility of building an atomic bomb. He retired after the war, but continued consulting for General Electric until about 1965.