Julian W. Hill; DuPont Chemist Helped Develop Nylon

Julian Werner Hill, 91, a research chemist who helped develop nylon. A native of St. Louis educated at Washington University, Hill worked with a team at DuPont Co. in the 1920s studying polymers. Hill accidentally discovered a strong, taffy-like substance when he stuck a heated glass rod into a beaker of molecules that the team was testing. It was dubbed “nylon” when it was introduced at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, and was used extensively and exclusively by the military during World War II. Nylon is now used widely for clothing, carpets and luggage, among other products. Hill, an amateur violinist and figure-skater, spent his career at DuPont, which held the patent on nylon. At the time of his retirement in 1964, he was supervisor of the company’s funding for university research in physics and chemistry. On Sunday in Hockessin, Del.