Hanford, William Edward

Hanford, William Edward

(1908–  ) chemist, inventor; born in Bristol, Pa. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and joined E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company as a research chemist. He and Donald F. Holmes, a colleague at du Pont, developed polyurethane in 1942. Hanford later became director of research for M. W. Kellog and, in 1957, vice-president for research and development at Olin Industries.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.