Thomas Leopold "Carbide" Willson 1860-1915
Text from the plaque
Born in Oxford County, Upper Canada, and largely self-educated, Willson became a noted inventor in fields ranging from the generation of electricity, through electro-chemistry and metallurgy, to production of fertilizers. His international reputation and considerable fortune derived from the discovery, in 1892, of a method to mass produce calcium carbide as was done in this building. Acetylene, generated from this compound, was used both as an illuminant and a source for other industrial hydrocarbons. Willson's discovery thus laid a basis for much of the early twentieth century's chemical industry.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
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The City of Ottawa
On Victoria Island east of the Portage Bridge
N 45 25.275 W 75 42.746
Recorded October 2011. Check current access before visiting.
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