FRASCH, Herman, inventor, b. at Gaildorf, Württemberg, Germany, 25 Dec, 1852; d. in Paris, France, 1 May, 1914, son of John and Frieda Henrietta (Bauer) Frasch. Both his
parents were natives of Stuttgart, his father
was burgomaster of Gaildorf. His family on
both sides was notable, particularly in the
military life of Germany; his uncle, Major
Borth, was killed in the Franco-Prussian War, and a first cousin, Lieut. Col. Frederick Borth, of Württemberg, a member of the staff of the Grand Duke Albrecht, was killed during the recent operations in France, on 18 Aug., 1914. Herman Frasch was educated in the city of Halle, passing through the successive grades of the public and Latin schools and the gymnasium. At the age of sixteen he entered upon his work as a pharmacist in Halle, but about one year later came to the United States, sailing from Bremen and landing in Philadelphia. Soon after his arrival, he entered the laboratory of Prof. John M. Maisch at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. Here he worked for several years, perfecting his knowledge of pharmaceutical chemistry and rendering valuable assistance to his chief, through his daring and originality in experiment. His interest, however, turned steadily toward industrial chemistry, a branch of the science then coming into increasing prominence, and in 1874 he opened a laboratory of his own, and began a series of experiments that proved him the master-mind that the world was destined to recognize and honor in later years. He received his first patent, covering a process for utilizing tin scrap, in 1874; his second, on a process for purifying paraffine wax in 1876. Both of these, as events have proved, were basic to important modern industries. The paraffine wax, formerly a waste by-product in oil refining, was now capable of utilization in the manufacture of candles and for other industrial purposes of importance, and the credit of discovering the secret of its utilization, worth millions of dollars yearly, is due to the genius of Mr. Frasch. He also originated the familiar and useful paraffine paper, which has such great and varied uses as a waterproof packing for foodstuffs, confectionery, etc., and has made possible the safe transportation and preservation of many substances, otherwise perishable. These, and related patents having been purchased by one of the subsidiaries of the Standard Oil Company, he himself was retained, under contract for a term of years, to conduct extensive experiments for improving the processes of refining crude petroleum. He made several technical contributions to the practical processes of oil manufacture, all of which were profitably adopted in practice with the comparatively pure oils from the Pennsylvania fields, as well as several inventions in other industrial lines, such as one for the production of white lead from galena ore, another for the purification of salt, and a third for producing electric light carbons from oil residuum. In 1885, however, he entered upon experiments leading to one of his most important discoveries, the purification of sulphur-tainted oils, such as are found in the oil fields of Canada, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The presence of sulphur in these oils greatly limited their range of utility, because of the offensive odors and suffocating fumes liberated when they were burned. Such defects, of course, reduced their value to the lowest terms, the usual price at the wells being as low as