Oscar Hedenburg

​Oscar Hedenburg was a renowned chemist, achieving at least twenty-two patents in his lifetime. His work was centered at the Rex Research Company in Toldeo, Ohio and critical for the development of the first man-made, non-poisonous insecticides, namely piperonyl butoxide.

Oscar graduated from Wesleyan University (bachelor’s, 1909; master’s, 1911) and went on to achieve a doctorate degree at the University of Chicago in 1915.[i] The University of Chicago was unique in that it host one of the first postdoctoral research appointments in the United States, modelled after German universities, by professor John Ulric Nef. Oscar worked closely with Nef and colleague J. W. E. Glafffeld from 1914-1916.[ii]

In 1916, he gained a fellowship at the Carnegie Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, where he would spend 44 years.[iii] Oscar served as the first Insecticide Fellow, sponsored by the Rex Research Corporation.[iv] Over the course of the fellowship, Oscar would prepare over 600 different substances, with only two or three proving to be of significant importance. However, the impact on the field was paramount, especially as his developments offered an alternative to DDT.[v]

Early work focused on inorganic chemistry to address how insecticides were applied. In the 1910s and ‘20s, insecticide was applied as a powder, which would wash away in the rain. The first produce successfully developed during the fellowship addressed this problem.

In 1921, the fellowship shifted focus to organic insecticides and by May 1922, Fly-Tox was developed, the first nationally distributed household insecticide. The chemical compound key to Fly-Tox was derived from chrysanthemums, which were sourced from Japan and later Kenya. By 1934, Rex Research Corporation directed Oscar to create synthetic compounds in order to decrease reliance on foreign trade. This demand took nine years to complete.

In the 1945, he achieved a breakthrough by discovering a productive insecticide that was harmless to birds and warm-blooded animals, known as Pyrenone.[vi] Not only did he conduct research, he also was critical in popularizing use of insecticides, citing disease as a core reason for curbing the population of flies, mosquitos, and other insect pests.[vii]

However, he shifted focus from insecticides in the 1940s due to the astronomical cost of development and the approval process with the Department of Agriculture. In addition, one of his first fellowship projects was producing the first major batch of Veronal, the first commercially available barbiturate, advertised as a sleeping pill.

Oscar joined forces with Emerson Venable in 1951. Together, they opened a firm that investigated mine accidents, explosions, auto wrecks, and fires to serve as expert witnesses in trials. They also conducted secret research for the Federal Government. The nature of this work is unknown.[viii]

In 1967, at the age of 84, he was still active in the lab.[ix]