Bill Gore

Wilbert Lee "Bill" Gore (1912 to 1986) was an American engineer, scientist, inventor and businessman who co-founded W. L. Gore and Associates with his wife, Genevieve. Trained as a chemical engineer and chemist, he took a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1933 and a master's degree in physical chemistry in 1935 at the University of Utah, and his technical interests included polymer engineering and the statistical design of experiments. He worked at the American Smelting and Refining Company, Remington Arms and DuPont before leaving in 1957 to pursue his own idea of an electronic ribbon cable for computers insulated with polytetrafluoroethylene. He and his wife started the company in the basement of their home in Newark, Delaware, in 1958, and under his leadership it grew into an international corporation best known for its waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex fabrics and for an innovative lattice management structure that he is widely credited with developing. He held patents in plastics, fluorocarbons and electronics, and was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1990.