Herbert H. Dow: Founder of Dow Chemical
Business Owner · Chemicals & Materials
Herbert H. Dow, a Case School graduate who researched Ohio and Michigan brines, invented bromine extraction methods and founded Dow Chemical.
About Herbert H. Dow: Founder of Dow Chemical
Herbert Henry Dow (February 26, 1866 to October 15, 1930) was an American chemical industrialist who founded the multinational conglomerate Dow Chemical. A graduate of the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a prolific inventor of chemical processes, compounds and products, notably bromine extraction from brine water, and a successful businessman. Dow was born in 1866 in Belleville, Ontario, the eldest child of Americans Joseph Henry Dow, an inventor and mechanical engineer, and Sarah Bunnell, both from Derby, Connecticut; when the infant was six weeks old the family returned to their hometown. In 1878 they moved to Cleveland, following Joseph's job with the Derby Shovel Manufacturing Company. After graduating from high school in 1884 Dow enrolled at the Case School of Applied Science, now part of Case Western Reserve University, where he joined Phi Kappa Psi and began specialized research into the chemical composition of brines in Ohio and nearby areas, discovering that brine samples from Canton, Ohio, and Midland, Michigan, were unusually rich in bromine. Sources: English Wikipedia (Herbert Henry Dow, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Founder, Dow Chemical Company (1866-1930)
Company Details
The Dow Chemical Company
Chemicals, Materials Science