Herbert Henry Dow II

Early years Herbert Henry Dow II was born in 1927 in Midland, Michigan. He was the younger of two children of Willard Dow, second president of Dow Chemical, and his wife, Martha Lenora Major, a teacher from Bay County. Herbert completed elementary school in the Midland Public Schools before boarding at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He graduated in 1945, then served in the United States Navy at the end of World War II. After his discharge, he briefly attended Yale University before enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Parent's death On March 31, 1949, Herbert's parents, Willard Dow and his wife Martha took off from Tri-City Airport in a twin-engine Beechcraft owned by Dow Chemical. They were flying to Boston to attend the Mid-Century Chemical Engineering Exposition, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Winston Churchill was scheduled to speak there, and Willard Dow had always wanted to meet him. Herbert II was a student at MIT, so the trip was an opportunity for he and his wife to see their son. After Herbert II graduated from MIT with a Bachelor of Science (SB) degree for general engineering, the couple moved to Midland, Michigan where he began work at Dow Chemical as a staff member in the Midland Division. Herbert II's uncle, Alden B. Dow began to design a home for his nephew's family in late 1952. The house was constructed and occupied the following year. The couple had three children.

Business As a Dow family member, he was named to Dow Chemical's board of directors in 1953. When Herbert II turned 65 in 1992, he retired from Dow but not the foundation.

Herbert II died unexpectedly in a Houston, Texas hospital after heart surgery on January 26, 1996. He was 69 years old and had been retired for four years.

New foundation In 1957 Herbert II and his wife Barbara established the Herbert H. and Barbara C. Dow Foundation In calendar year 2023 the organization had charitable disbursements of nearly $1.3 million; income of over $1.6 million and assets exceeding $27 million.

Awards Doctor of Laws, Central Michigan University, 1972 Doctor of Humanities (honorary), Saginaw Valley State College, 1975 Doctor of Public Service (honorary), Albion College, 1977 Life Member, MIT Corporation, 1993.