Allerton S. (Allerton Seward) Cushman

Born in Rome on June 2, 1867, while his father was serving at the American consulate, Allerton Seward Cushman grew up to become a chemist with an unusually broad public reach. He earned a B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1888 and continued his studies in Germany, including work at Freiberg and Heidelberg.

Cushman became known for applying chemistry to real-world industrial problems. He worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Public Roads, helped study the preservation of materials, and later founded the Institute of Industrial Research in Washington, D.C. He also wrote and co-wrote books including The Corrosion and Preservation of Iron and Steel and Chemistry and Civilization, making technical subjects accessible to readers interested in science, industry, and everyday life.

During World War I, he served at Frankford Arsenal with the rank of lieutenant colonel in ordnance. In his later years he worked as a consulting chemist in New York City. He died on May 1, 1930, leaving behind a body of writing that shows how closely chemistry was tied to the industrial world of his time.