Vernon K. Krieble
Vernon K. Krieble was a professor of chemistry at Trinity College and the inventor of Loctite.
Vernon K. Krieble (March 4, 1885-January 1964) was an American inventor and educator. He was born in Worcester, Pennsylvania to a Pennsylvania Dutch family, speaking only German until he began school. Krieble graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University in 1907. He had intended to study electrical engineering but after his first college chemistry course declared, “It was entirely too interesting to ever consider anything else.”
After graduation from Brown, Krieble completed his master's and doctoral degrees and served on the faculty at McGill University in Canada for 13 years, first as a chemistry demonstrator, then as a lecturer, and eventually as a professor. In 1912, he was awarded the Canadian Governor General's Medal for the best research paper of the year by a McGill faculty member. Krieble came to Trinity College in 1920 as the Scovill Professor of Chemistry, a position he held until his retirement in 1955. At Trinity, Krieble had a reputation among students and faculty as being very involved with his students and one of the best teachers at Trinity at the time. He significantly built up the chemistry program and helped plan, design, and raise money for the Clement Chemistry Building. The inclusion of the building's auditorium, now known as Cinestudio, was wholly Krieble's idea.
Krieble is known for inventing Loctite, a chemical sealant, and in 1955, after retiring from Trinity at age 70, put his full attention toward producing it. Krieble had established American Sealants Company in 1953 while working at Trinity, and had discovered a way to make anaerobic permafil from tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether in the Clement Chemistry Lab on Trinity's campus. The product of this process was a compound known to harden in the absence of air. Encouraged by his son, Bob to continue work on the product, Krieble found success, with the first commercial sales of the product occurring in 1954. The Loctite name was trademarked in 1956. In 1963, American Sealants Company changed its name to Loctite Corporation. Loctite was acquired by German manufacturer Henkel in 1997.
Vernon Krieble died in 1964, leaving behind a wife, a daughter, and a son. The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation was created in his honor by his granddaughter.
Sources
American Sealants Company collection, Trinity College Archives.
Rapid Electronics: Threadlocking
Dr. Vernon Krieble, Chemist, Inventor....The New York Times, 1/23/1964.
The Trinity Tripod, 11/30/1955.
Trinity College Bulletin, May 1955.
The Trinity Tripod, 04/27/1955.