Notable people · Inventor · Engineer
Frank Herzegh
Frank Herzegh, born in Cleveland, earned a physics degree at Case in 1930 and spent 42 years as an engineer at B.F. Goodrich in Akron. He designed and tested the first successful tubeless tire (patent 1952) and held about 100 other patents. He lived in Shaker Heights.
At a glance
- Born
- 1907-04-11
- Died
- 1989-12-04
- Education
- West Technical High School, Cleveland, OH, to 1926
- Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, OH, to 1930, B.S. physics
- Known as
- Inventor, Engineer
- Organizations
- B.F. Goodrich
Life story
Frank Herzegh was born in Cleveland in 1907 and graduated from West Technical High School in 1926. He studied physics at Case School of Applied Science and graduated in 1930.
At Case he played football, and in 1927 scored the winning touchdown in a 7-6 win over Western Reserve at Luna Park.
He joined B.F. Goodrich as a research engineer and stayed 42 years, working on tire vibration and traction. He applied for the tubeless tire patent in 1946 and was granted US 2,587,470 in 1952.
He held about 100 patents, won the Charles Goodyear Medal of the American Chemical Society's Rubber Division in 1978, retired in 1972 and died in 1989. He lived mostly in Shaker Heights.
Timeline
- 1907-04-11: Born (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1926: Graduates West Technical High School (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1927: Scores winning touchdown for Case against Western Reserve (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1930: Physics degree, Case School of Applied Science; joins B.F. Goodrich (Akron, OH) source
- 1938: Marries Eleanor Pitkin Owen (Ohio) source
- 1946: Applies for tubeless tire patent (Akron, OH) source
- 1952: US Patent 2,587,470 granted (United States) source
- 1972: Retires (Akron, OH) source
- 1978: Charles Goodyear Medal (United States) source
- 1989-12-04: Dies (Ohio) source
What Frank is known for
- Inventor of the first successful tubeless tire (Goodrich)
- Tubeless tire, US Patent 2,587,470 (1952)
- About 100 patents
Inventions and firsts
- Tubeless tire (1946-1947)
Honors and things named for them
- Charles Goodyear Medal, ACS Rubber Division (1978)
Family
- wife: Eleanor Pitkin Owen
Ohio places
Where Frank Herzegh was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
- Worked: Akron, Summit County ZIP 44308 · Akron · Summit County
- Lived: Shaker Heights, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44120 · Shaker Heights · Cuyahoga County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.
- Frank Herzegh (Wikipedia) life, patent, medal