Lloyd Hall
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Augustus Hall was an African American
chemist who contributed to the science of food preservation
. By the end of his career, Hall had amassed 59 United States
patent
s, and a number of his inventions were also patented in other countries.
, Illinois
on June 20, 1894. Hall's grandmother came to Illinois via the "Underground Railroad" at the age of sixteen. His grandfather came to Chicago in 1837 and was one of the founders of the Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church. He later became the church's first pastor in 1841. Hall’s parents, Augustus and Isabel, were both high school graduates.Although Lloyd was born in Elgin, he moved to Aurora, Illinois
. and was raised there by his parents. He later graduated in 1912 from East Side High School in Aurora. After graduating school he went on to study pharmaceutical chemistry
at Northwestern University
, earning a B.S.
there and his master's
at the University of Chicago. It was at Northwestern that Hall met Carroll L. Griffith, who with his father, Enoch L. Griffith, would found Griffith Laboratories
. The Griffith's went on to hire Hall as their chief chemist.
After leaving university Hall was hired by the Western Electric Company
but as the interview had been conducted over the telephone they did not know that he was black and refused to hire him. Hall then went to work as a chemist for the Department of Health in Chicago
followed by a job as chief chemist with the John Morrell Company.
During World War I
Hall served with the United States Ordnance Department where he was promoted to Chief Inspector of Powder and Explosives.
Following the war Hall married Myrrhene Newsome and they later moved to Chicago so he could work for the Boyer Chemical Laboratory, again as a chief chemist. Following this Hall became President and Chemical director for Chemical Products Corporation's consulting laboratory. Finally in 1925 Hall was offered a position with Griffith Laboratories where he was to remain for 34 years.
meat
, particularly to improving a curing salt
marketed by Griffith Laboratories known as flash-drying. This product originated with German
chemist Karl Max Seifert, developer of a process whereby solutions of sodium chlorine
and one or more secondary salts were sprayed onto hot metal and rapidly dried, producing crystals of the secondary salts encased inside a shell of sodium chloride. Seifert patented the process in 1934 and sold the rights to Griffith Laboratories. The adaptation of Seifert's process specifically for meat curing was then patented by company owner Enoch L. Griffith, who proposed nitrate
s and nitrite
s, well-known curing agents, as the secondary salts.
Lloyd Hall is often falsely credited with the original invention of Seifert's process. However, Hall took a leading role in developing the patent after it was sold to Griffith Laboratories, adding hygroscopic
agents such as corn sugar
and glycerine
to inhibit caking of the powder. Most of his patents in meat curing dealt with either preventing caking of the curing composition, or remedying undesired effects caused by the anticaking agent
s.
Hall also investigated the role of spice
s in food preservation. It was common knowledge that certain seasonings had antimicrobial
properties, but Hall and co-worker Carroll L. Griffith found that some spices carried many bacteria
, as well as yeast
and mold
spores. To counter these problems, they patented in 1938 a means to sterilize spices through exposure to ethylene oxide
gas, a fumigant. This method was all but abandoned upon the discovery that ethylene oxide was a toxic carcinogen
. Hall and Griffith later promoted the use of ethylene oxide for the sterilization of medical equipment, helping to advance an idea that had been around for several years.
Hall also invented new uses of antioxidant
s to prevent food spoilage, especially the onset of rancidity
in fat
s and oil
s. Aware that unprocessed vegetable oils frequently contained natural antioxidants such as lecithin
that slowed their spoilage, he developed means of combining these compounds with salts and other materials so that they could be readily introduced to other foods.
After retiring from Griffith in 1959, Hall consulted for the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations
. From 1962 to 1964, he sat on the American Food for Peace
Council. He died in 1971 in Pasadena
, California
. He was awarded several honors during his lifetime, including honorary degree
s from Virginia State University
, Howard University
, and the Tuskegee Institute
and in 2004 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
for his work.
He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
chemist who contributed to the science of food preservation
Food preservation
Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or slow down spoilage and thus allow for longer storage....
. By the end of his career, Hall had amassed 59 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s, and a number of his inventions were also patented in other countries.
Biography
Hall was born in ElginElgin, Illinois
Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
on June 20, 1894. Hall's grandmother came to Illinois via the "Underground Railroad" at the age of sixteen. His grandfather came to Chicago in 1837 and was one of the founders of the Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church. He later became the church's first pastor in 1841. Hall’s parents, Augustus and Isabel, were both high school graduates.Although Lloyd was born in Elgin, he moved to Aurora, Illinois
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
. and was raised there by his parents. He later graduated in 1912 from East Side High School in Aurora. After graduating school he went on to study pharmaceutical chemistry
Medicinal chemistry
Medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry are disciplines at the intersection of chemistry, especially synthetic organic chemistry, and pharmacology and various other biological specialties, where it is involved with design, chemical synthesis and development for market of pharmaceutical...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, earning a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
there and his master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at the University of Chicago. It was at Northwestern that Hall met Carroll L. Griffith, who with his father, Enoch L. Griffith, would found Griffith Laboratories
Griffith Laboratories
Griffith Laboratories is a global manufacturer of food products based in Alsip, Illinois. Founded in 1919, Griffith Laboratories is a privately held, third-generation entrepreneurial family business...
. The Griffith's went on to hire Hall as their chief chemist.
After leaving university Hall was hired by the Western Electric Company
Western Electric
Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering company, the manufacturing arm of AT&T from 1881 to 1995. It was the scene of a number of technological innovations and also some seminal developments in industrial management...
but as the interview had been conducted over the telephone they did not know that he was black and refused to hire him. Hall then went to work as a chemist for the Department of Health in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
followed by a job as chief chemist with the John Morrell Company.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Hall served with the United States Ordnance Department where he was promoted to Chief Inspector of Powder and Explosives.
Following the war Hall married Myrrhene Newsome and they later moved to Chicago so he could work for the Boyer Chemical Laboratory, again as a chief chemist. Following this Hall became President and Chemical director for Chemical Products Corporation's consulting laboratory. Finally in 1925 Hall was offered a position with Griffith Laboratories where he was to remain for 34 years.
Major contributions
Hall devoted much of his efforts to the technologies behind curingCuring (food preservation)
Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...
meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, particularly to improving a curing salt
Curing salt
Prague powder #1 or pink salt contains 93.75% table salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite. Prague powder #2 contains sodium nitrate in addition to sodium nitrite. Both kinds are used in the preserving and curing of meats, and in sausage making...
marketed by Griffith Laboratories known as flash-drying. This product originated with German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemist Karl Max Seifert, developer of a process whereby solutions of sodium chlorine
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
and one or more secondary salts were sprayed onto hot metal and rapidly dried, producing crystals of the secondary salts encased inside a shell of sodium chloride. Seifert patented the process in 1934 and sold the rights to Griffith Laboratories. The adaptation of Seifert's process specifically for meat curing was then patented by company owner Enoch L. Griffith, who proposed nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
s and nitrite
Nitrite
The nitrite ion has the chemical formula NO2−. The anion is symmetric with equal N-O bond lengths and a O-N-O bond angle of ca. 120°. On protonation the unstable weak acid nitrous acid is produced. Nitrite can be oxidised or reduced, with product somewhat dependent on the oxidizing/reducing agent...
s, well-known curing agents, as the secondary salts.
Lloyd Hall is often falsely credited with the original invention of Seifert's process. However, Hall took a leading role in developing the patent after it was sold to Griffith Laboratories, adding hygroscopic
Hygroscopy
Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract and hold water molecules from the surrounding environment. This is achieved through either absorption or adsorption with the absorbing or adsorbing material becoming physically 'changed,' somewhat, by an increase in volume, stickiness, or other...
agents such as corn sugar
Glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...
and glycerine
Glycerol
Glycerol is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. Glycerol has three hydroxyl groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature. The glycerol backbone is central to all lipids...
to inhibit caking of the powder. Most of his patents in meat curing dealt with either preventing caking of the curing composition, or remedying undesired effects caused by the anticaking agent
Anticaking agent
An anticaking agent is an additive placed in powdered or granulated materials, such as table salt, to prevent the formation of lumps, easing packaging, transport, and consumption....
s.
Hall also investigated the role of spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s in food preservation. It was common knowledge that certain seasonings had antimicrobial
Antimicrobial
An anti-microbial is a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, or protozoans. Antimicrobial drugs either kill microbes or prevent the growth of microbes...
properties, but Hall and co-worker Carroll L. Griffith found that some spices carried many bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, as well as yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
and mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
spores. To counter these problems, they patented in 1938 a means to sterilize spices through exposure to ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide, also called oxirane, is the organic compound with the formula . It is a cyclic ether. This means that it is composed of two alkyl groups attached to an oxygen atom in a cyclic shape . This colorless flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor is the simplest epoxide, a three-membered...
gas, a fumigant. This method was all but abandoned upon the discovery that ethylene oxide was a toxic carcinogen
Carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes...
. Hall and Griffith later promoted the use of ethylene oxide for the sterilization of medical equipment, helping to advance an idea that had been around for several years.
Hall also invented new uses of antioxidant
Antioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When...
s to prevent food spoilage, especially the onset of rancidity
Rancidification
Rancidification is the chemical decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids . When these processes occur in food, undesirable odors and flavors can result. In some cases, however, the flavors can be desirable . In processed meats, these flavors are collectively known as "warmed over flavor"...
in fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
s and oil
Vegetable fats and oils
Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure...
s. Aware that unprocessed vegetable oils frequently contained natural antioxidants such as lecithin
Lecithin
Lecithin is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues, and in egg yolk, composed of phosphoric acid, choline, fatty acids, glycerol, glycolipids, triglycerides, and phospholipids .The word lecithin was originally coined in 1847 by...
that slowed their spoilage, he developed means of combining these compounds with salts and other materials so that they could be readily introduced to other foods.
After retiring from Griffith in 1959, Hall consulted for the Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. From 1962 to 1964, he sat on the American Food for Peace
Food for Peace
Public Law 480 also known as Food for Peace is a funding avenue by which U.S. food can be used for overseas aid....
Council. He died in 1971 in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He was awarded several honors during his lifetime, including honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s from Virginia State University
Virginia State University
Virginia State University is a historically black and land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Chesterfield, in the Richmond area. Founded on , Virginia State was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans...
, Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, and the Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
and in 2004 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging invention and creativity through the administration of its programs. The Hall of Fame honors the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human,...
for his work.
He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity.
Patents
- 1,882,834, 10/18/1932, Asphalt emulsion and manufacture thereof
- 1,914,351, 6/13/1933, Protective coating, Enoch L.Griffith (co-inventor)
- 2,022,464, 11/26/1935, Vitamin concentrate,
- 2,097,405, 10/26/1937, Manufacture of bleached pepper products
- 2,107,697, 2/8/1938, Sterilizing foodstuffs, Carroll L. Griffith (co-inventor)
- 2,155,045, 4/18/1939, Inhibited detergent composition
- 2,189,949, 2/13/1940, Sterilizing colloid materials
- 2,251,334, 8/5/1941, Protein composition of matter
- 2,321,673, 6/15/1943, Yeast food
- 2,357,650, 9/5/1944, Puncture sealing composition and manufacture thereof
- 2,363,730, 11/28/1944, Manufacture of nitrogen-fortified whey concentrate
- 2,385,412, 9/25/1945, Capsicum-containing seasoning composition
- 2,414,299, 1/14/1947, Production of protein hydrolysate flavoring material
- 2,464,200, 3/15/1949, Manufacture of stable dry papain composition
- 2,464,927, 3/22/1949, Antioxidant
- 2,477,742, 8/2/1949, Gelatin-base coating for food and the like
- 2,493,288, 1/3/1950, Synergistic antioxidants and the methods of preparing the same
- 2,500,543, 3/14/1950, Antioxidant
- 2,511,802, 6/13/1950, Synergistic antioxidant
- 2,511,803, 7/13/1950, Antioxidant flakes
- 2,511,804, 7/13/1950, Antioxidant salt
- 2,518,233, 8/8/1950, Synergistic antioxidant containing amino acids
- 2,536,171, 1/2/1951, Production of protein hydrolysate
- 2,758,931, 8/14/1956, Antioxidant composition
- 2,770,551, 11/27/1956, Meat-curing salt composition
- 2,772,169, 11/13/1956, Antioxidant material and use of said material in treating meat
- 2,845,358, 7/29/1958, Method of preserving fresh frozen pork
