By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow.
Richard died April 21, 2025; honoring the work he did with hazmat history is one small way to keep his memory alive.
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.
November 14, 1970
A chartered jet carrying the Marshall University football team crashed into a West Virginia hillside. Thirty-seven football players, the team’s coach, its doctors, the university athletic director, and 25 team boosters died in the crash. The movie, “We are Marshall” is based upon this tragic event. My wife was a student at Marshall when this tragedy occurred.
November 14, 1947
The modern offshore oil and natural gas industry began when an exploratory well struck oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The freestanding oil platform, built in 18 feet of water, was 10 miles from shore. It was the first successful offshore oil well out of sight of land.
November 14, 1925
Zhores Aleksandrovich Medvedev, Soviet biologist and historian, was born. He exposed the nuclear disaster that occurred in the Urals in the 1950s. For his dissident activities in his homeland, he became one of the earliest to be detained in a mental institution. In 1973, he accepted a one-year invitation from the National Institute for Medical Research to work in London. Within six months of his arrival, he was forced into exile by the Soviet Union, which revoked his passport.
November 14, 1863
Leo Hendrik Baekeland, American industrial chemist, was born in Belgium. He invented Bakelite, the first thermosetting plastic, which did not soften when heated. His fully synthetic plastic was initially used as an electrical equipment insulator. It has since been molded into buttons, knobs and countless other items.
November 14, 1765
Robert Fulton, American inventor and engineer, was born. While he did not actually invent the steamboat, he used his applied engineering skills to take steamboats from experimental design to commercial success. The maiden voyage of his successful steamboat (Clermont) from New York City to Albany, 150 miles, was completed in 32 hours.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
