Waldo Lonsbury Semon (September 10, 1898-May 26, 1999) was a renowned American inventor born in Demopolis, Alabama. September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Demopolis is a city located in Marengo County, Alabama. ...

Semon put his name into the history books for inventing vinyl, the world's second most used plastic. He found the formula for vinyl by mixing a few synthetic polymers, and the result was a substance that was elastic, but wasn't adhesive. In all, Semon held 116 patents, and was inducted into the Invention Hall of Fame in 1995 at age 97. Vinyl siding Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a widely-used plastic. ... The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic polymerization products. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or applicant for a limited amount of time (normally maximum 20 years from the filing date, depending on extension). ...

Semon is sometimes credited with inventing bubble gum, but this is inaccurate. He did invent a indigestible synthetic rubber substance that could be used as a bubble gum (and produced exceptionally large bubbles), but the product remained a curiosity and was never sold. Bubblegum is a type of chewing gum that is especially designed for blowing bubbles. ...

Semon graduated from the University of Washington earning a BS in chemistry and a PhD in chemical engineering. The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a major public research university in the Seattle metropolitan area. ... A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... Chemistry (in Greek: χημεία) is the science of matter and its interactions with energy and itself (see physics, biology). ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... Chemical engineering is the application of science, mathematics and economics to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms. ...

External links

• MIT Inventor Profile (http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/semon.html)
• UW Alumni Magazine Profile (http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/sept99/semon.html)