Othmer, Donald Frederick PhD

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Othmer, Donald F FB210212MaryDrapchoCou

20210217HAv-
Mary Drapcho
12 February 2021 · Coudersport...

Dr. Donald F. Othmer
'Chemist
DONALD F. OTHMER
In 1998, Donald Othmer, a world-renowned chemist, philanthropist and Polytechnic University professor, together with his wife, Mildred, made the largest single cash private university, benchmark educational philanthropy. Othmer, holder of more than 150 patents and author of more than 350 scholarly articles, was both a pragmatist and a visionary. While inventing fundamental tools and technologies such as the Othmer Still and heating systems for arctic pipelines, Othmer also found time to edit, with Polytechnic's Dean Chemistry, Raymond Kirk, the pivotal 27-volume Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, which still in use today.

Comments
Richard Neefe
Mary Drapcho Thanks for this info Ms. Mary very informative.
· Reply · 4d
Mary Drapcho
Richard Neefe I have so much stuff of them. There are the Christmas card "plates" from Japanese artist, and the pictures of the house inside and out. Plus their biography. We played there so much because the Hmel kids were my friends and I talked to Dr. Othmer and wife as a kid. They were nice but not friendly. He developed RDX and did evaluations for the US Gov't on German chemicals after WWII. I find it all very interesting. The Othmer Still is being used today.
· Reply · 4d
Mary Drapcho
This is a picture from the collection.
May be an image of tree, snow and nature
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Dale Ulkins
Mary, did the Othmer's only live there occasionally? I grew up knowing the house but knew almost nothing about him. I was astounded by what you shared. That got me going to the Internet for more!
· Reply · 4d
Mary Drapcho
Dale Ulkins Yay! Readers are leaders! Yes. I think in one of picture collections it is referred to as "Coudersport Country Home." However, in either his biography or an article HE listed Coudersport as his home on a form. Some of the Christmas Cards are of Coudersport house and environs. scenes
· Reply · 4d
Dale Ulkins
Mary Drapcho Thanks so much, Mary. I think fondly, and with reverence to the Drapcho name. Trooper Al was an intimidating presence in our teenage hooligan years.
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Mary Drapcho
Dale Ulkins I feel ya'. He had a wild kid and a perfect kid. I found his reach extended all across the state. No escape! ????
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Steven J Heimel
Mary, I urge you to begin writing all this up for the Historical Society. Also maybe you can look into H. Carter Berry, inventor of the cast aluminum piston, who lived on North Main Street. Berry worked hard to convince authorities that Coudersport did not need a sewage treatment plant. Another luminary was Chancellor Litchfield, of the University of Pittsburgh, who planted fields of Vinca Rosea at his summer home in Potter County in a quest for a cure for cancer.
· Reply · 3d
Paul W. Heimel
Three local legends lost in history . . . fascinating.
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Mary Drapcho
Steven J Heimel thank you! Orhmers are easy, there was a information everywhere. I think Litchfield and my father were friends, but Berry I've never heard of. I guess I'd better figuratively crack my knuckles and do some research. ????
· Reply · 3d
Steven J Heimel
He was quite the gardener, building a contraption that allowed him to sit while rooting in the ground. There was somewhat of a fight over the patent, which he ended up winning, maybe involving Chrysler Corporation.
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Mary Drapcho
Steven J Heimel I was looking up Othmer and garden patents and stumbled on an oral history of him talking in his office in Brooklyn. He interesting.
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John C Wetzel
I've used the 'Kirk-Othmer Encyclopaedia' extensively in my studies and in my career. I was shocked about 40 years ago to learn that he was THAT Dr. Othmer!
· Reply · 1m · Edited
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