Which American researcher invented napalm in 1942, first used by the U.S. military?

Napalm is an incendiary moisture of a gelling agent and a compatible volatile petrochemical, with kerosene and diesel fuel. The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: aluminum naphthenate and aluminum salts of coconut fatty acids, sold under the trade name Aluminum “palmitate”. In 1942, while working at a secret laboratory at Harvard University as an organic chemist and professor, Louis F. Fieser (1889-1977) invented military effective napalm.

Dow Chemical Company, an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan in the United States began producing his formula for napalm during WWII. Dow is among the three largest chemical producers in the world.

It was used most notably in the devastating incendiary attacks on Japanese cities in 1945. Napalm fueled most of the flamethrowers on tanks, ships, and infantry-based military personnel throughout WWII. It was later used for air support roles in Korea and Vietnam.

Fieser was born in Columbus, Ohio, and earned his undergraduate dregree in chemistry in 1920 from Williams College, a private liberal arts college in Willianstown, Massachusetts. He went on to earn advanced degrees and worked as a post doctoral student at Frankfurt University in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

As a professor at Harvard University, he was a well-loved faculty member widely known for using inventive methods to educate students.