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Notable people · Inventor · Business

Herbert H. Dow

Canadian-born chemist who graduated from Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland in 1888 and discovered that Canton, Ohio brines were rich in bromine. He founded Dow Chemical in Michigan.

At a glance

Born
1866-02-26
Died
1930-10-15
Education
Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, OH, to 1888, graduated
Known as
Inventor, Business
Organizations
Dow Chemical Company, Canton, Ohio bromine company (1889; failed within the year)

Life story

Herbert Dow was born in Belleville, Ontario, in 1866 and raised in Derby, Connecticut. His family moved to Cleveland in 1878, and he finished high school in 1884.

He studied at the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, graduating in 1888. While there he found that brine in Canton, Ohio, and in Midland, Michigan, was rich in bromine. He taught briefly at Huron Street Hospital College and received his first bromine patent in 1889.

He started Midland Chemical in 1890 and developed an electrolytic process for bromine in 1891. In 1895 he founded the Dow Process Company in Massillon, Ohio, and in 1896 moved to Midland and founded Dow Chemical. He held more than 90 patents and died in 1930.

Timeline

  • 1866-02-26: Born (Belleville, ON, Canada) source
  • 1878: Family moves to Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1888: Graduates Case School of Applied Science (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1889: First bromine extraction patent (US) source
  • 1890: Founds Midland Chemical Company (Midland, MI) source
  • 1892-11-16: Marries Grace Anna Ball (US) source
  • 1895: Founds Dow Process Company (Massillon, OH) source
  • 1896: Moves to Midland and establishes Dow Chemical (Midland, MI) source
  • 1930-10-15: Dies at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) source

What Herbert is known for

  • Case School graduate 1888
  • First bromine extraction patent 1889
  • Dow process of electrolytic bromine production, 1891 Midland MI
  • Founded Dow Chemical
  • Dow process of electrolytic bromine extraction (1891)
  • Dow Chemical Company (1896)
  • Dow Gardens (1899)
  • Over 90 patents

Honors and things named for them

  • Perkin Medal, 1930
  • Herbert H. Dow House National Historic Landmark, Midland, MI, 1976
  • Herbert Henry Dow High School, Midland, MI

Family

  • wife: Grace Anna Ball
  • child: Willard Dow
  • child: Alden B. Dow

Ohio places

Where Herbert H. Dow was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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