Standard Chemical Company

40°15′22″N 80°11′58″W / 40.25611°N 80.19944°W / 40.25611; -80.19944

Standard Chemical Company
Founded1911 to 1922
Headquarters,
Official nameStandard Chemical Company
TypeCity
CriteriaBusiness & Industry, Science & Medicine, Professions & Vocations
DesignatedJanuary 01, 2018
Marker LocationAllen Hall, 3941 O'Hara St., at entrance across from Thackeray Ave., Univ. of Pittsburgh

The Standard Chemical Company (SCC) of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was the first successful commercial producer of radium. SCC operated the radium refining mill from 1911 to 1922 on a 19-acre (77,000 m2) plot of land. The company supplied radium to the United States Radium Corporation for use in their watch dials.[1]

History edit

 
Marie Curie - Standard Chemical Company visit in 1921

The company was established by Joseph M. Flannery (1867-1920)[2] and his brother James J. Flannery (1855-1920).[3] In 1909 their sister became ill with cancer. Joseph, after traveling to Europe and learning that radium could treat cancer, and in an effort to help his sister, he decided that he would refine the radioactive element in the United States.[citation needed]

When Marie Curie was invited to the United States in 27. May 1921, she was given an honorary degree by the University of Pittsburgh, and one gram of radium, Standard Chemical Company provided it to her.[4][5][6]

See also edit

United States Radium Corporation

References edit

  1. ^ "BRP Environmental Surveillance Section -- Environmental Monitoring". www.dep.state.pa.us. Archived from the original on 2008-05-28.
  2. ^ "Joseph M. Flannery".
  3. ^ "James J. Flannery".
  4. ^ Lewicki, Ann M. (2002). "Marie Sklodowska Curie in America, 1921". Radiology. 223 (2): 299–303. doi:10.1148/radiol.2232011319. ISSN 0033-8419. PMID 11997527.
  5. ^ Jerry Grefenstette (15 June 2009). Canonsburg. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-1-4396-2218-6.
  6. ^ Shelley Emling (21 August 2012). Marie Curie and Her Daughters: The Private Lives of Science's First Family. St. Martin's Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-1-137-10261-4.

External links edit