William Arthur Cowan
William Arthur Cowan (c1874-1939)
1939 Obituary [1]
William Arthur Cowan, retired research chemist, died on October 27, 1939, at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y., after a long illness, at the age of 65.
Mr. Cowan was born in Pittsfield, Mass., and attended Amherst College, graduating in 1897 with an A.B. degree, cum laude.
After two years in the faculty of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Cowan joined the staff of the National Lead Company in 1899. He was a works chemist until 1908, research chemist until 1914, and assistant chief chemist from 1914 until he retired on January 1, 1939.
Mr. Cowan served in the war of 1914-18 and afterwards on the Advisory Committee on Non-ferrous Metals of the National Bureau of Standards, and was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Alloys of the National Research Council. Mr. Cowan was a member of the American Chemical Society, the Mining and Metallurgical Engineering Society of America, the Chemists' Club of New York, and the Franklin Institute.
He was elected a member of the Institute of Metals in 1921.