March 28, 2011

Harry Coover Jr., Inventor of Super Glue, Dies at Age 94

(NewsCore) - The man who invented Super Glue has died in Tennessee at the age of 94, The New York Times reported Sunday. Harry Wesley Coover Jr., who discovered the super-sticky adhesive by accident during World War II, died of congestive heart failure Saturday night at his home in Kingsport. Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2004, Coover was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation last year by President Barack Obama. Super Glue did not make him rich, however, as it did not become a commercial success until the patents had expired. Son-in-law Dr. Vincent E. Paul said, "He did very, very well in his career but he did not glean the royalties from Super Glue that you might think."

One of Coover's proudest accomplishments was that his invention was used, in spray form, to help treat injured soldiers during the Vietnam War, by stopping bleeding. His daughter Dr. Melinda Coover Paul said, "I think he got a kick out of being Mr. Super Glue. Who doesn't love Super Glue?" Besides his daughter, Coover, who was born in Newark, Del., is survived by two sons, Harry III and Stephen, and four grandchildren. SOURCE: FOX

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