Every scientist wants to make a difference, but not the kind Thomas Midgley Jr is now remembered for.
Once honoured by the scientific community, Midgley’s latter work with the General Motors team responsible for developing additives for gasoline earned him the title ‘reverse genius’.
To solve the problem of ‘engine knocking’, Midgley came up with the bright but lethal idea of adding tetraethyl lead to gasoline in the 1920s. If the mention of lead sets alarm bells ringing today, it’s disconcerting to discover it did so back then as well. Knowing it was toxic, Midgley carried on regardless and for three generations Ethyl gasoline, to give it its commercial name, spread lead indiscriminately around the world.
Not content with damaging the existing population’s IQ levels and nervous systems, Midgley upped his game to leave what would be a lasting legacy. In 1930, he discovered dichlorodifluoromethane could be used as a domestic refrigerant and quickly began manufacturing Freon-12 gas on a commercial scale. A major contributor to ozone depletion, the production of Freon gas was later banned, but not before causing irreparable damage.
Here at Jumpstart, we like to think we leave a lasting legacy too. By encouraging and facilitating investment in R&D, we’re contributing in some small way to the UK’s economic growth.
