PRUTTON, CARL F. (30 July 1898-15 July 1970), chemical engineer and educator, was born in Cleveland to Daniel and Julia Seelbach Prutton. He attended Purdue University (1915-16) before serving in Mexico with the Natl. Guard., graduated from Case School of Applied Science (See: CWRU) in 1920, and joined the school's faculty as an instructor in chemistry. He received a master's in chemical engineering from Case in 1923, and a doctorate in physical chemistry from Western Reserve University in 1928.
Prutton became an assistant professor in 1925, associate professor in 1929, and full professor and chairman of the Dept. of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering in 1936. He developed new courses and laboratory programs, oversaw the construction of a new laboratory in 1938, and created a program in graduate study in chemistry. Prutton also served as a consultant to several companies, among them Dow Chemical (1921, 1928-41) and LUBRIZOL CORP. (1929-51). In 1944-45, he took a leave of absence from Case to serve full-time as the director of research. Working both on his own and with ALBERT KELVIN SMITH, Prutton was responsible for more than 100 patents, known in the oil and chemical industries as "the Prutton patents."
Prutton resigned from Case in 1948 to join Olin Mathieson Chemical Corp. in Baltimore as director of research, becoming a vice-president in 1949. In 1954 he joined Food Machinery & Chemical Corp. in San Jose, Calif. as vice-president and director of the chemical division. He retired in 1960 and lived in Florida.
Prutton married Marie Agatha Saunders in 1919. They had six children: Helen (Mrs. George C. Conrad), Mary (Mrs. Robt. L. Sutherland), Carolyn (Mrs. J. Robinsmall), Dorothy (Mrs. Jose Castillo), Carl, and John. He died in New York City and was buried in CALVARY CEMETERY.