Today in Lab History: John Mercer
John Mercer was an English chemist and industrialist who invented the mercerization process for treating cotton, which is still in use today, and was a pioneer in color photography.
From age 16, and throughout his life, he investigated and developed chemical textile dyes. Late in his life, in 1844, he found that when cotton is treated with caustic chemicals, it became thicker and shorter – thereby stronger and shrink-resistant.
Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/09/today-lab-history
