Nathaniel Wyeth

Nathaniel C. Wyeth (October 24, 1911 – July 4, 1990) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor. He is best known for creating a variant of polyethylene terephthalate that could withstand the pressure of carbonated liquids. Made of recyclable PET plastic, lighter than glass and virtually unbreakable, Wyeth's invention is used widely today for both carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.

Early life and education Born in Asgard near Chadds Ford, he displayed an engineering talent throughout his youth. Wyeth held a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Wyeth is also known as the brother of painters Andrew Wyeth, Carolyn Wyeth, and Henriette Wyeth Hurd, the father of musician Howard Wyeth, and as the son of artist and illustrator N. C. Wyeth.

Wyeth often called himself "the other Wyeth" because N.C. and Andrew Wyeth were so well known. In 1990, Wyeth was award DuPont's Lavoisier Award for Technical Achievement.

Wyeth's other innovations included improvements to manufacturing process, plastics, textiles, electronics and mechanical devices.

Personal life He married Caroline Pyle (Howard Pyle's niece) in 1937. Local residents were inclined to think Caroline and Wyeth's father, N. C. Wyeth, carried on a relationship, though biographer David Michaelis found little evidence to suggest it. and two daughters. Their oldest child, Katharine Pyle Wyeth, was born in 1938 but only lived a few hours. Biographer David Michaelis wrote that she was delivered during a forceps delivery and cited that as the cause of her death. Newell, their oldest son, died in 1945 alongside his grandfather, N.C. Wyeth (Wyeth's father), when their car stalled on a railroad crossing near their home and they were struck by a milk train.