Bill Gore

Wilbert Lee Gore
Born	January 25, 1912 Meridian, Idaho
Died	July 26, 1986 (aged 74) Lander, Wyoming
Citizenship	United States
Fields	Chemical engineering
Institutions	W. L. Gore and Associates DuPont
Alma mater	University of Utah
Known for	Gore-Tex
Notable awards	The Plastics Hall of Fame

Wilbert Lee "Bill" Gore (January 25, 1912 – July 26, 1986) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded W. L. Gore and Associates with his wife, Genevieve (Vieve).

Trained as a chemical engineer and chemist, his technical interests included polymer engineering, applications of statistical methods to experimentation, and methods of operations research. He held patents in the fields of plastics, fluorocarbons, and electronics. He was also an active outdoorsman.

Born in Meridian, Idaho in 1912, Bill Gore held degrees in chemical engineering (B.S., 1933) and physical chemistry (M.S., 1935) from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. His early career included employment at American Smelting and Refining Company, Remington Arms, and the DuPont Company.

In 1957, Gore left a career with DuPont to pursue an idea of his own for making electronic ribbon cable for use in computers that was insulated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Bill and Vieve started their company, W. L. Gore & Associates, in the basement of their Newark, Delaware home in 1958. One of the key processes involved was suggested by their son, Bob Gore, then a sophomore in college. By 1960, increasing orders for their MULTI-TET ribbon cable, in particular a contract from the Denver Water Company, resulted in the construction of a separate manufacturing facility.

Under Bill Gore's leadership, the company grew from a modest business into an international corporation known best for its waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex fabrics. Today, the company has a broad portfolio of products based on PTFE that include cables for electronic signal transmission, diverse industrial applications, medical implants and laminated fabrics.

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