DOW, HERBERT H. (26 Feb. 1866-15 Oct. 1930), developer of Dow Chemical Co., was born in Belleville, Ontario. The son of Joseph H. and Sarah Bunneil Dow, he moved with his family to Cleveland, and graduated with a B.S. from Case School in 1888. His senior thesis, which he presented that summer at the Cleveland meeting of the American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, dealt with brines in Ohio.
From 1888-89, when Dow was professor of chemistry at the Huron St. Hospital College, he developed a process for manufacturing bromine from brine, receiving a patent on 12 Apr. 1892. In 1889 he organized a company to work with brines in fields near Canton. That venture failed, however in 1890 he started Dow Process Co. in Midland, Mich. where the brines contained heavy concentrations of bromine. Dow organized Midland Chemical Co. in 1892 and in 1895 began manufacturing chlorine and its derivatives. He formed Dow Chemical Co. in 1897 to manufacture chlorine and caustic soda; in 1900, Dow Chemical absorbed Midland Chemical Co. In establishing his companies, Dow was financially and technically assisted by Case classmate ALBERT W. SMITH. Dow was president and general manager of Dow Chemical, responsible for developing new chemical processes for which more than 100 patents were granted. He received honorary degrees from the Case School of Applied Science (1924) and the University of Michigan (1929) and the Perkin Medal from the Society of the Chemical Industry in 1930.
On 16 Nov. 1892, Herbert Dow married Grace A. Ball of Midland, Mich. They had seven children. He died in Rochester, Minn. and was buried in Midland, Mich.