Midgley, Thomas, Jr.

(born May 18, 1889, Beaver Falls, Pa., U.S.—died Nov. 2, 1944, Worthington, Ohio) U.S. engineer and chemist.

After studying at Cornell University, he worked as an industrial researcher and administrator. In 1921 he discovered the effectiveness of tetraethyl lead as an antiknock additive for gasoline. He also discovered dichlorodifluoromethane, a refrigerant sold commercially as Freon-12 (&see; Freon), which with related compounds came into universal use as refrigerants and later as aerosol propellants. Midgley conducted extensive research on natural and synthetic rubbers and discovered one of the first catalysts for “cracking” (breaking down) hydrocarbons.