Fred Olsen
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United StatesFredrich Olsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 February 1891 |
| Died | 2 November 1986 (aged 95) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis (PhD) |
| Known for | ball propellant |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | chemistry |
| Institutions | Picatinny Arsenal Western Cartridge Company Olin Corporation |
Fredrich Olsen (1891–1986) was a British-born American chemist remembered as the inventor of ball propellant[1] and as a donor or seller to the art antiquities collections of Yale University, the University of Illinois, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2]
Olsen was born on 28 February 1891, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Following education in Canada, he began his professional career in 1917 as chief chemist for the Aetna Explosives Company of Gary, Indiana.[3] When Aetna went out of business following World War I,[2] Olsen worked at Picatinny Arsenal from 1919 to 1929 devising a remanufacturing process to preserve deteriorating military inventories of smokeless powder in artillery ammunition manufactured during World War I. He was then employed by the Western Cartridge Company of East Alton, Illinois, where he patented the Ball Powder manufacturing process in 1933. Western Cartridge Company became an Olin Corporation subsidiary in 1944, and Olsen was appointed Olin's vice president for Research and Development in 1952.[4]
