By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow
The saying, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is more than a cliché. It is a reminder that we must constantly be learning from the past. Here’s a look back at major historical events that happened today in the world of hazardous materials.
April 18, 1966
James Schlatter, American research chemist, applied for a patent for Peptide Sweetening Agents (aspartame). His invention was eventually marketed as NutraSweet. While picking up a paper, he had accidently licked his finger. Schlatter tasted an unexpectedly sweet trace of a substance that had, he realized, earlier splashed onto the outside of a flask he had handled. It contained L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester. His patent was assigned to his employer, G.D. Searle & Co. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration later approved it as a food sweetener.
April 18, 1939
Ira McCullough, American inventor, developed a device to perforate an oil well casing after it has been installed. To increase oil production, charges of gunpowder were simultaneously ignited so that multiple projectiles are shot with sufficient force and velocity to penetrate a plurality of casings and intervening walls of concrete.
April 18, 1906
The Great San Francisco earthquake (7.8-magnitude) struck northern California. Fires immediately broke out. Broken water mains prevented firefighters from stopping the fires, which quickly destroyed the wooden Victorian structures. Firestorms soon developed citywide and continued for four days, destroying 75% of the city. The earthquake and fires killed 700 people. Shock waves from the 275-mile-long San Andreas Fault were felt from southern Oregon all the way down to Los Angeles.
April 18, 1880
A string of deadly tornadoes struck Missouri, where 151 people died. One of these tornadoes (F4-rated) struck Marshfield, where 99 people died. Although tornadoes can occur anywhere in the world, they are most common in North America, a geographic area often referred to as tornado alley.
April 18, 1863
Hugh Callendar, English physicist, was born. He is best known for calibrating the thermodynamic properties of steam and publishing the first widely used steam tables. Callendar invented the platinum resistance thermometer using the electrical resistivity of platinum, enabling the precise measurement of temperatures. He also invented an electrical continuous-flow calorimeter, a compensated air thermometer, a radio balance and a rolling-chart thermometer that enabled long-duration climatic temperature data collection. His son, Guy Callendar, linked climatic change with increases in carbon dioxide resulting from burning carbon fuels. Known as the Callendar effect, this contributes to the atmospheric greenhouse effect.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
