William H. Nichols

William Henry Nichols (1852–1930) was an American chemist and businessman. He was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the American Chemical Society, serving as president in 1918 and 1919. The New York branch of the society gives a prestigious award every year that is named after him, the William H. Nichols Medal Award. He attended New York University.

William Henry Nichols was born in Brooklyn on January 9, 1852. He was the son of George Henry and Sarah Elizabeth (Harris) Nichols. William H Nichols received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the New York University in 1870 and 1873 respectively. He also received honorary degrees from New York University, Lafayette, Columbia University, University of Pittsburgh, and Tufts. William H Nichols married Hannah W Bensel of Brooklyn in 1873. The couple had three children: William Henry Jr, born in 1874, Charles W, born in 1875, and Madeleine, born in 1884.

Nichols, along with his son Charles W. Nichols, helped organize the merger of 12 companies in 1899 to create General Chemical. Under his leadership, the company grew its asset base and increased its earnings threefold, making Nichols a force in America’s fledgling chemical industry. His vision of a bigger, better chemical company took off when he teamed up with investor Eugene Meyer in 1920. Nichols and Meyer combined five smaller chemical companies to create the Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation, which later became Allied Chemical Corp., and eventually became part of AlliedSignal, the forerunner of Honeywell’s specialty materials business. Both men have buildings named after them at Honeywell’s headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. His original plant along the Newtown Creek in Queens is infamous for its legacy of pollution. Nichols is rumored to have once emptied vats of excess sulfuric acid into the creek rather than sell it cheaply to a businessman he had no respect for.

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