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Irving F. Laucks

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Irving Fink Laucks (July 3, 1882-March 9, 1981) was an American chemist and philanthropist.

Biography

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Laucks was born in Akron, where he attended public schools and graduated second in his high school class.[1] He received a bachelor's degree in 1904 from the Case School of Applied Science and a master's degree from the Case School in 1909.[2] Around 1923, Laucks discovered a cheap and effective soybean glue used for the manufacture of Douglas fir plywood.[3] This glue made plywood resistant to moisture, allowing it to be used on exterior surfaces for the first time.[4] By 1930, seven years after Lauck's discovery, the glue was used in all Douglas fir plywood plants.[5] With James A. Nevin, the two men "dominated the development of wood product glues in the United States between 1927 to 1946".[6] His company, I.F. Laucks Inc., was acquired by Monsanto in 1944.[7]

Political activism and philanthropy

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Around 1960, Laucks began to be active in the peace movement, sponsoring talks by Robert Pickus and encouraging the public to express their desire for peace.[8] He wrote a letter to Eisenhower in January 1960, advocating for a plan of reciprocal disarmament, where the United States would reduce its supply of weaponry by two percent and encourage other countries to do the same.[9] Using his personal fortune from his plywood company, he became an early investor in Ramparts magazine.[10] In 1967 he was also on the board of sponsors for M.S. Arnoni's magazine The Minority of One.[11] He also provided funds to Robert M. Hutchins' Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, specifically donating to fund the work of Women's Strike for Peace activists Marjory Collins and Eleanor Garst.[12] In spring 1964, Laucks became a consultant for the Center and eventually moved to Santa Barbara to increase his involvement with its work.[13] That year, Laucks was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Triple Revolution and a signatory of the Triple Revolution memorandum.[14]

Laucks was also interested in religious movements and parapsychology[15] He studied the relationship between ESP and religious experiences.[16] Eventually, Laucks came to believe that "psychic phenomena constitute just as real a part of the world" as scientific data.[17] In 1953, Laucks published the book A Speculation in Reality, which addressed psychic phenomena using his background as a chemist and scientist.[18] In a 1968 editorial, he proposed the creation of a new religion based on scientific principles of evolution and research.[19] Laucks was an early investor in the Glendan Company in the 1970s, which attempted to build machines that could record psychic phenomena.[20]

Personal life

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He married Eulah Croson[21] She served as the director of Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions and was a regent of Immaculate Heart College.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Akron Leads. One of Her Young Men Wins High Honors: The Great Success of Irving F. Laucks". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 25, 1900. p. 10.
  2. ^ "Chemurgic personalities: I.F. Laucks". Chemurgic Digest: 118. May 15, 1944.
  3. ^ Perry, Thomas (June 1955). "A Salute to Pioneers in Douglas Fir". Woodworking Digest. 57 (6): 62.
  4. ^ Woog, Adam (1991). Sexless oysters and self-tipping hats : 100 years of invention in the Pacific Northwest. Sasquatch Books. p. 68. ISBN 0912365471.
  5. ^ Stevens, Jim (September 19, 1956). "Out of the Woods". Ukiah Daily Journal. p. 9.
  6. ^ Connor, Sara Witter (2009). "Wisconsin's Flying Trees: The Plywood Industry's Contribution to World War II". The Wisconsin Magazine of History. 92 (3): 16–27. ISSN 0043-6534. JSTOR 25482114.
  7. ^ "Monsanto Chemical Forms New Division; Expansion Due Here". The Seattle Star. January 3, 1947. p. 20.
  8. ^ Purroy, John (March 27, 1960). "Retired Healdsburg Manufacturer Says Polls Prove People Want Peace". The Press Democrat. p. 17.
  9. ^ Brown, Vinson (April 27, 1961). "Exploring Sonoma County". Sonoma West Times and News. p. 11.
  10. ^ Richardson, Peter (2009). A bomb in every issue: How the short, unruly life of Ramparts magazine changed America. The New Press. p. 36. ISBN 9781595584397.
  11. ^ "Board of Sponsors". The Minority of One. 9 (7–8): 2. July–August 1967.
  12. ^ Ashmore, Harry S. (1989). Unreasonable Truths: The Life of Robert Maynard Hutchins. Little, Brown, and Company. p. 439.
  13. ^ Kelly, Frank K. (1981). Court of reason : Robert Hutchins and the Fund for the Republic. New York: The Free Press. p. 245. ISBN 0029180309.
  14. ^ James, Samuel D.K. (1985). The impact of cybernation technology on Black automotive workers in the U.S. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press. p. 5.
  15. ^ Arroyo, Stephen (1975). Astrology, psychology, and the four elements : an energy approach to astrology & its use in the counseling arts. CRCS Publications. p. 11. ISBN 0916360024.
  16. ^ Pike, James A. (1968). The other side: an account of my experiences with psychic phenomena. New York: Doubleday. p. 168.
  17. ^ Egler, Frank E. (July 1954). "Another Speculation on Reality". Ecology. 35 (3): 424–425. Bibcode:1954Ecol...35..424E. doi:10.2307/1930114. ISSN 0012-9658. JSTOR 1930114.
  18. ^ Hill, Elizabeth (December 1954). "Book Reviews". New Age Interpreter. 15 (7): 15.
  19. ^ Geggie, James (February 24, 1968). "Scientific Religion Based on Evolution of Intellect". The San Bernardino County Sun. p. 8.
  20. ^ Mody, Cyrus C.M. (2022). The Squares: US Physical and Engineering Scientists in the Long 1970s. The MIT Press. p. 66. ISBN 9780262543613.
  21. ^ "Laucks Home to Be Shown in Magazines". The Bakersfield Californian. May 14, 1950. p. 10.
  22. ^ Barbeau, Clayton C. (1971). Future of the Family. Bruce Publishing Company. p. 135.
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