Ruth Benerito

BENERITO, Ruth, née Rogan, American physical chemist, 1916-2013. Many of her innovations were created whilst working at the US Dept of Agriculture in New Orleans from 1940. She established the necessary caloric intake requirements of patients being fed intravenously for long periods. Ruth made many advances in the chemistry of cotton, such as creation of crease-resistance and drip-dry qualities, a finishing agent with oil-repellence, and a flame-retarding agent. The solution was also found to the problem of chlorine scorching of cotton. Permanent creases made clothes much more comfortable. Although most of her developments were cotton-oriented, some of these inventions also benefited other industries (e.g., paper, wood, film and epoxy). Ruth was a prolific inventor in textiles chemistry, she held many patents independently and jointly.

Textile Chemistry Inventor

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