T The Story of Nylon he creation of a class of materials known as super polymers in the 1930s was one of the greatest scientific discoveries in history. In 1928 the management of E.I du Pont de Nemours & Company assembled several teams of leading chemists with the initial goal of engaging in pure scientific research. This effort was the beginning of large scale industrial research in the field of modern chemical science. The team led by Dr. Wallace H. Carothers was eventually credited with the invention of Nylon. The first true synthetic fiber was drawn from a test tube in 1930 by Dr. Julian Hill, who was working as part of Dr. Carothers' research team. After years of trying many different combinations to achieve the desired properties, the search finally came to rest in February of 1935 on a material known as polyhexamethyleneadipamide; fiber 66. This specific material was selected by Dr. Elmer Bolton as the most promising candidate for commercial success, due to the fact that the raw materials necessary to create it were relatively inexpensive and readily available in large quantities. In April of 1937, laboratory samples of Nylon were used to successfully knit the first pair of experimental stockings. On September 21, 1938, the national press reported the issue of a DuPont patent covering a new textile fiber. 36 days later, on October 27, 1938, "Nylon" was officially announced to the world at the New York Herald Tribune's eighth annual forum on current problems. Less than 50,000 pounds had been produced to this point for development purposes. The first public sale of Nylon hosiery was held in Wilmington, DE. on October 24th, 1939. Nearly 45 million people had their first glimpse of hosiery made from Nylon at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. This demonstration created an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response and DuPont began full scale production in December of 1939. Nylons were made available for sale nationwide on May 15th, 1940. DuPont's experience in the manufacturing of Rayon and other materials, in conjunction with exceptional determination and a clear long term vision for the future, had enabled them to ramp up to full scale production in record time. By 1944 approximately 25 million pounds of Nylon had been produced in the United States. This number would later rise to an astounding 600 million pounds by the end of 1963. Although the manufacture of ladies stockings was the largest single use for Nylon, it was by no means the only use. Nylon shares some of the credit for the allied victory in World War II. America entered the war on December 7th, 1941. On February 10th, 1942 the flow of Nylon to hosiery mills abruptly stopped and all production from the newly completed and expanding plant in Seaford, Delaware was allocated for defense priorities. The new material had arrived just in time to have a significant impact on the war. It was used in lieu of silk to make Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 1 of 9
parachutes, ropes, jungle hammocks, boot uppers, ponchos, gloves, survival rafts, body armor, flak vests and gunners belts. Patriotic celebrities such as Betty Grable wore stockings that had been manufactured prior to the war and auctioned them during bond rallies for as much as $40,000. Nylon, in hundreds of different forms, was eventually used to make fishing line, medical sutures, tire reinforcement cords, boat sails, hats, brushes, gears, electronic connector housings and wire ties. It was also used in all forms of ladies wear and men's wear. By 1963 DuPont was manufacturing over 1100 different varieties of Nylon. Additionally, the basic research that was conducted in the 1930s eventually led to the creation of other important commercial polymers including Orlon, Dacron, Antron, Lycra and Zytel. During the war DuPont expanded its production facilities by eightfold. Despite this overwhelming growth, the company was extremely hard pressed to meet the enormous post war demand created by women who felt that they had been deprived. This directly led to a series of famous incidents that came to be known as "The Nylon Riots". An internal DuPont company memo from 1946 reveals that in one such incident, 10,000 shoppers in San Francisco overflowed "...into Market Street from a store which had advertised a special sale of nylons for the benefit of working girls. (The) sale was called off after one of the company display windows was pushed in by the force of the crowd, and several women fainted." Another internal memo issued in 1966 offered the following account of a similar incident that occurred in 1945: "In Pittsburgh, 40,000 post war nylon hunters queued for a rain soaked mile, while Washington telephone equipment gave out under the strain of response to the first post war radio advertisement for nylon hosiery." During 2004, in an odd turn of events, DuPont sold their fibers and textile division. Perhaps they lost their long term vision for these products or were not pleased by what they saw. The global textile market is reported to be highly competitive. Perhaps they simply decided to pursue other interests which they felt would be more stable and profitable. Whatever the case, whatever the motivation, they sold one of their flagship product lines. At best we can only speculate regarding the true reasons. In March of 2014 I attended the Fashion Meets Science Introducing Nylon exhibition at the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware. This exhibit first opened in 2013 and celebrates the 75th anniversary of the invention of Nylon. Although the glory of the initial discovery has long since faded into history, this incredible material forever changed the way we live. Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 2 of 9
The young woman in this post war photo was so overjoyed to have her new nylons that she paused in the street to put them on. Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 3 of 9
This giant leg was used in Los Angles to advertise nylons to millions. It was 35 feet high, weighed 2 tons and was modeled by movie star Marie Wilson. Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 4 of 9
Nylon Models, 1939 World's Fair, New York The Nylon Riots, San Francisco, 1946 Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 5 of 9
"Orlon" Acrylic Fiber "Lycra" Spandex Fiber Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 6 of 9
An early experimental stocking Betty Grable, auctioning her stockings at a war bond rally Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 7 of 9
Primary Sources Title: Nylon The First 25 Years Author: Unknown Publisher: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Date of Publication: 1963 ID: Volume XX Twelfth Memoir Title: Nylon A DuPont Invention Author: Unknown Publisher: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Date of Publication: 1988 Title: History of Hosiery Fibers The Past 50 Years Author: Robert B. Gardner Internal Memo: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Date of Publication: 1966 Revision History 1. The format was updated and standardized on 11/30/14. Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 8 of 9
Mark A. Vaught Released: 04/28/14 File: WP007.doc Ref: Last Updated: 11/30/14 About the author: Mark is a native of Maryland and currently lives with his wife Mary in York, Pennsylvania. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, writing, woodworking and playing drums. He is a certified electronics technician with a background in the design of electrical control systems and is currently employed with MarquipWardUnited in Hunt Valley, Maryland as a senior controls designer. Document: MAV WP007.pdf Page 9 of 9