An American chemical engineer who designed and built explosives factories. With no formal chemical engineering qualifications, he began working for his uncle in an explosives factory in California. He followed his uncle to South Africa when offered the opportunity to build an explosives factory for the De Beers mining company. He built a factory that manufactured glycerine used in explosives just as the First World War was beginning. He was then commissioned to design, construct, and operate munitions and explosives factories in the UK. He received recognition with awards including the Croix de Guerre from the French government. He was the first vice president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.