258 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1. 1919. 



The Obituary Record. 



PIONEER IN THE PNEUMATIC TIRE INDUSTRY. 



HARVEY DU CROS, through whose enterprise and business 

 acumen Dunlop's invention of the pneumatic tire was de- 

 veloped, died at his residence, Dalkey, County Dublin, Ire- 

 land, on the twenty-first day of December, 1918, at the age of 72. 

 It is related that in 

 1888 when J. B. Dun- 

 lop a Belfast veterin- 

 ary surgeon, devised 

 two air-filled tires for 

 his son's bicycle, Mr. 

 du Cros, who, like his 

 six sons, was an en- 

 thusiastic cyclist, saw 

 the possibilities of the 

 pneumatic tire and 

 formed a company 

 with a capital stock 

 of ;£15,000 to exploit 

 the invention. Though 

 at first the "dough- 

 nut" tire was ridi- 

 culed it soon gained 

 favor and displaced 

 the "bone shakers," 

 as the solid tire tri- 

 cycles were after- 

 wards called. The 

 motor industry pro- 

 vided a much wider 

 scope for the penumatic tire, and under the management of 

 Mr. du Cros the name of the Dunlop tires became familiar on 

 six (continents. 



Mr. du Cros was president of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre 

 Co., Limited, an office which he held even after a shock rendered 

 him physically disabled, though mentally as strong as ever, and 

 since his retirement, a few years ago, he has always been avail- 

 able in an advisory capacity. 



Mr. du Cros was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1846, being de- 

 scended from an old Huguenot family which settled in that 

 country in 1702. He was a keen sportsman, and in his younger 

 days excelled in boxing, rowing, gymnastics and cycling. He 

 was a member of Parliament from 1906 to 1908. 



Of his six sons, Sir Arthur du Cros has been for several 

 years managing director of the Dunlop Rubber Co., Limited, 

 Birmingham, England, and another son, Harvey du Cros, 

 Junior, is joint managing director of The Austin Motor Co., 

 Limited, Northfield, Birmingham, England. 



A history of Mr. Harvey du Cros' connection with the Dunlop 

 Pneumatic Tyre Co., Limited, was given at some length in The 

 India Rubber World, December 1, 1909. 



H.ARVEY DU Cros, T.P., M.P. 



CHEMICAL EDITOR AND WRITER. 

 Raxley F. Weber, of the General Laboratories of the 

 United States Rubber Co., New York City, died on Novem- 

 ber 9, 1918, after a lingering illness. Mr. Weber graduated from 

 Cornell University in 1903, after which he taught chemistry for 

 some years in the St. Louis high schools. His connection with 

 the rubber industry commenced as research chemist with the 

 Rubber Regenerating Co., Naugatuck, Connecticut, at the be- 

 ginning of the year 1912. 



R.^XLEY F. Weber. 



His research work was thorough and resulted in some dis- 

 tinct advances in the art of reclaiming. 



Failure in health led to his taking a six months' leave of ab- 

 sence in 1914, after which he joined the staff of the general lab- 

 oratories of the United States Rubber Co., New York City, 

 where his work was chiefly bibliographical. He was abstractor 

 for the section on pigments, resins, varnishes and india .rubber 

 for the abstract journal of the American Chemical Society from 

 January, 1913, until a separate 

 section was formed for rubber 

 and allied substances, of which he 

 took charge as assistant editor in 

 December, 1916. 



At the United States Rubber 

 Co.'s general laboratories he 

 started the technical abstract bul- 

 letin that is circulated within the 

 United States Rubber System 

 and edited it with distinction, 

 carrying on the work with a cour- 

 age during his fight for health in 

 the last part of his life that was 

 an inspiration to his associates. 

 He was peculiarly fitted for this 

 sort of work and enjoyed its suc- 

 cessful development under his 

 hands. 



Warm - hearted, whole - souled, 

 and unselfish, he endeared himself to all of his associates and 

 will be sorely missed by all who knew him. 



THE PAINT INDUSTRY LOSES A LEADER. 



Raymond Watson Evans, vice-president and general manager 

 of The Eagle-Picher Lead Co., Chicago, Illinois, died suddenly in 

 New York City on Thursday, the sixteenth day of January, 1919, 

 following an attack of acute indigestion. 



Mr Evans was born at Cov- 

 ington, Kentucky, on April 8, 

 1 "-71 .\fter graduating from 

 Iiuh school he started his bus- 

 iness career in the dry goods 

 liusmess in Missouri. While in 

 Colorado for his health, his at- 

 tention was directed to the op- 

 portunities offered by the lead 

 business and he accepted a posi- 

 tion as salesman in the Far West 

 territory for the Picher Lead 

 Co. in 1894. One year later he 

 became secretary and treasurer 

 of the company. When the 

 Eagle White Lead Co. was ab- 

 sorbed by the Picher company 

 in 1916, Mr. Evans became vice- 

 president and manager of sales. 

 Mr. Evans loved his business and his home, was a tireless 

 worker and a modest, kind, universally liked man. To his 

 ability the success of the company is largely due. 



Mr. Evans leaves his widow, .Mberta Wetzel Evans, a daughter, 

 Eugenia, his mother, three sisters, and his brother. S. Marshall 

 Evans, the latter being the second vice-president of the Eagle- 

 Picher Lead Co. 



Raymond W. Evans. 



