Oral History of the Month, May 2008
For the month of May we are featuring the fascinating oral history of Joseph Labovsky. After living through terrible war and famine as a child in his native Ukraine, in 1922 ten-year old Labovsky immigrated with his mother and siblings to Wilmington, Delaware where his father had recently settled. Upon Labovsky’s graduation from high school, he began work as a “chemist helper” to Wallace Hume Carothers in DuPont’s Experimental Station. Carothers became Labovsky’s mentor, recommending Labovsky for a DuPont college scholarship.

After receiving his degree in industrial chemical engineering in 1934, Labovsky entered the dismal job market of the Depression with high hopes yet. However, after a month of unemployment, Labovsky eventually accepted a job digging a ditch that was to last for two weeks. Fortuitously, the job was located in front of the DuPont Experimental Station where he had previously worked. When Carothers left the building that evening, he happened to recognize his former employee. Upon discovering that Labovsky had indeed completed his degree but had been unable to find work in his field, Carothers invited Labovsky to rejoin the research group in its nylon development work.

For the next three years, Labovsky worked as technical lab assistant to Carothers’ research group. In his oral history, Labovsky relates the story of their work testing polymers in an attempt to find a substitute for silk, and the exciting discovery of polymer 66, which stood up well to both heat and solvents. Labovsky describes the fiber 66 commercial manufacturing process that led to the development of the product known as nylon.

Nylon, which was both stretchy and silky, became the world’s first totally synthetic fiber. In 1938, DuPont publicly announced that nylon had been invented. On 15 May 1940, nylon stockings went on sale for the first time in the United States. Four million pairs were sold in the first several hours. In the U.S. today, nylon is the second most used synthetic fiber.

As for Joseph Labovsky, he ascended quickly to positions of foreman and then supervisor in different areas of the company and worked at DuPont for a total of forty-two years.

To learn more about the invention of nylon or the life of Joseph Labovsky, please visit us at CHF and read his oral history in the Othmer Library Reading Room.

Joseph Labovsky opens the interview with a discussion of his childhood in Ukraine and his family experiences there after his father emigrated to the United States in 1914. Labovsky moved with his mother and siblings to Komarine, a village adjacent to Chernobyl on the Dnieper River, where the family survived the Communist Revolution, civil war, famine, and a pogrom which killed fifteen of the twenty Jewish families there. In 1922, Labovsky's father was able to locate the family and make arrangements for a safe escape through Eastern Europe to the United States. Labovsky describes childhood interactions with the Polish and Red Armies in Komarine; impressions of settling in Wilmington, Delaware, where his father was a successful tailor; resuming his early education; and learning English. Next, Labovsky discusses his high school graduation and his father's successful efforts to secure him a job at DuPont, where he began working as lab assistant for Dr. Wallace Carothers' research group. He reflects upon his experiences and perceptions of early nylon work. Labovsky also looks back on his relationships with other scientists, particularly his mentor Carothers who directed him towards a DuPont college scholarship. In 1930, Labovsky began training at Bliss Electrical College but transferred after one year to the Pratt Institute, where he earned a degree in industrial chemical engineering. In 1934, he graduated and, after struggling in the Depression-era job market, happily accepted an offer to return to Carothers' research group and nylon development work. The interview continues as Labovsky details both the research group's work testing polymers and discovering polymer 66, and differences in the work environments under Carothers and, later, George Graves. After a discussion of work to develop the fiber 66 commercial process, Labovsky shares recollections of Carothers and the circumstances surrounding his untimely death in 1937. Throughout the second half of the interview, he chronicles the commercial development and success of nylon, providing details on spinning, drawing, quality control, and commercial processing. Labovsky describes problems and solutions in the history of nylon, including his War Production Award and three-part "A" bonus for reducing nylon waste through procedures to repair spinnerets during the Korean War. He describes his career path from laboratory technician to process control foreman to management training specialist for DuPont International--emphasizing the importance of troubleshooting, problem solving, and standard practice procedures throughout. The interview closes with comments on safety in nylon production and DuPont's overall safety record.