Thomas Midgley, Jr. scientist

Science’s fallen hero

Meet Thomas Midgley, Jr., who solved science problems by making bigger ones.

Scientists take a drubbing in popular culture.


They're depicted as oddballs, like the dweebs in the Big Bang Theory, a ratings topper from 2007 to 2019 and now ubiquitous in lucrative, syndicated reruns. In the 1960's, Gilligan's Island featured "The Professor," an egghead with no social skills. And lest we think this is a relatively recent stereotype, Mary Shelley introduced the world to the mad, obsessive Victor Frankenstein in 1818.

Enter Thomas Midgley, Jr., engineer and chemist who reached the scientist's equivalent of rockstar status nearly 100 years ago. Midgley, whose father and grandfather were both patent-holding inventors, was born in western Pennsylvania in 1889. After a boyhood in Columbus, Ohio, he took off for the Ivy League, emerging from Cornell with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1911.

Described as affable, Midgley is said by historians to have been in constant possession of a copy of the Periodic Table of Elements. By 1916, he was working in a General Motors lab assigned to develop a gasoline additive that would control "knocking" -- the pinging, rattling noises that can afflict an accelerating gasoline engine. By the early 1920's, Midgley's team had settled on tetraethyl lead (TEL) as the solution. The American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized Midgley with its annual Nichols Medal in 1923. He took the next month off with symptoms of lead poisoning. By contrast, GM stayed safe, marketing tetraethyl lead gasoline as "ethyl."

While evidence built on lead's impact on the human nervous system, especially for children whose brains were still developing, leaded gasoline was used for the next 50 years.

Harmful invention #2: Freon

But soon, Midgley had a different passion. GM's new appliance division Frigidaire, needed to find a safe, non-toxic refrigerant chemical to replace the toxic mash already in use. Combining fluorine and carbon, he hit paydirt: Dichlorodifluoromethane, better known by its marketing name, freon. Midgley was credited with developing an entirely new chemical family, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's).

Midgley won the Priestley Medal -- the highest in ACS — in 1941. That same year, he became the organization's president.

By 1985, the ozone half of Midgley's star status began to fade. Scientists had detected "holes" in the Earth's stratospheric ozone layers at both poles, with Antarctica's situation particularly dire. At ground level, ozone is a pollutant — a primary component of "smog." But in the upper atmosphere ozone is a protectant—blocking skin cancer-causing solar radiation. Researchers tracked much of the problem to chlorofluorocarbons — notably Midgley's freon.

One final, fatal invention 

EArth ozone layer

Time-lapse photo from Sept. 9, 2019—scientists release these balloon-borne sensors to measure the thickness of the protective ozone layer high up in the atmosphere. (Credits: Robert Schwarz/University of Minnesota)

The world's nations responded with unusual urgency. By 1988, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer took effect, outlawing the manufacture of CFC's. More than 180 nations signed on, with enthusiastic support from such notorious non-treehuggers as Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Today, scientists tell us that damage to the ozone layer has begun to reverse, with projections that the ozone layer will be whole by the start of the next century.

Similarly, use of tetraethyl lead in gasoline is sharply down, but not completely out. A few nations including Algeria, Iraq, Myanmar and North Korea may still allow its limited use. The U.S. still allows leaded fuel for small aircraft, farm and lawn equipment. Neurologists credit the near-absence of TEL with health and intelligence improvements in children.

Wouldn't it be nice if blunders like Midgley's could be as easily reversed with climate change or COVID?

In the cruelest of ironies, Midgley's final invention directly caused his demise. In 1940, he contracted polio, leaving him a paraplegic but not dampening his zeal for invention. He devised a rope-and-pulley system to haul himself into a wheelchair and back into bed.

On November 2, 1944, Thomas Midgley, Jr. died in his Ohio home, inadvertently strangled by his own invention.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist. What are your favorite (or least favorite!) environmental songs? Send them in to Peter at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

California solar farms stretch to the horizon surrounded by green fields.

Farmers in California are swapping crops for solar to save water and stay afloat

A growing number of farmers in California’s Central Valley are ditching thirsty crops in favor of solar panels, unlocking major economic and environmental wins.

Matt Simon reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Water polluted with trash.

Trump’s first 100 days bring sweeping rollbacks to climate protections and environmental oversight

President Donald Trump has issued dozens of executive orders in his first 100 days, targeting climate policy, energy regulation, and environmental science across the federal government.

Julia Jacobo reports for ABC News.

Keep reading...Show less
hands and torso of a person using a silver laptop computer.

EPA moves to cancel nearly 800 climate justice grants issued under Biden

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to terminate 781 environmental justice grants aimed at protecting vulnerable communities, nearly doubling previous estimates and triggering legal battles over the move’s legality.

Maxine Joselow and Amudalat Ajasa report for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
An offshore oil rig with a ship in the distance.

Trump greenlights deep-sea mining as U.S. companies clash with global law and environmental warnings

President Trump’s executive order jump-started a controversial push for commercial seabed mining, igniting a partisan battle in Congress and drawing international criticism.

Max Bearak reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Image of college classroom with wooden seats and a blackboard.

UMass commits to climate leadership as states counter federal inaction

Facing federal rollbacks under President Trump, the University of Massachusetts system is expanding its climate tech and sustainability efforts across its five campuses.

Dennis Pillion reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
A hydrogen tank with H and a subscript 2 on it in blue font.

Trump administration steers hydrogen funding to fossil fuel projects, sidelining clean energy hubs

As President Trump’s energy policies shift federal hydrogen funding toward fossil fuel projects, Pennsylvania’s ambitions for a renewable-powered hydrogen hub face major setbacks, with companies withdrawing and local plans unraveling.

Audrey Carleton reports for Capital & Main.

Keep reading...Show less
Solar panels next to an open field on a cloudy day.

Solar panel recycling plant planned to boost Florida’s clean energy economy

As hurricane-damaged solar panels continue to flood Florida landfills, a startup aims to build one of the nation's largest solar recycling plants to recover valuable metals and ease supply chain pressures.

Alexander C. Kaufman reports for Canary Media.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.