Houdry, Eugene Jules

Houdry, Eugene Jules

(1892–1962) chemical engineer, inventor; born in Domont, France. By 1927 he had developed a method for extracting high-quality gasoline by catalytically "cracking" low-grade crude oil. In 1930 he emigrated to America to advance this "Houdry process," which soon revolutionized the production of gasoline around the world. During World War II he developed a method for producing synthetic rubber. Holder of over 100 patents, he also founded the Oxy-Catalyst company to research cancer.