James Franklin Hyde has been called the "Father of Silicones" and is credited with the launch of the silicone industry in the 1930s and the design of the Chemical Elements Periodic Table. He carried out the first successful research leading to the commercial production of silicones and was a leader in fundamental as well as practical research in the field of organosilicon compounds.

Hyde was born in Solvay, New York in 1903. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Syracuse University. At the University of Illinois, he earned a PhD in organic chemistry and then received a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University under Dr. James Bryant Conant. Hyde subsequently received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Syracuse University.

Hyde's work led to the formation of Dow Corning, an alliance between the Dow Chemical Corporation and Corning Glass Works that was specifically created to produce silicone products. Hyde worked at the Dow Corning Corporation for four decades. Beginning as a research chemist, he next became manager of the Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory, a position he held from 1938 to 1951. From 1951 until his retirement in 1973, he was senior research scientist for basic organosilicon chemistry, after which he became a research consultant to Dow Corning.

In 1931, Dr. Hyde became the first organic chemist to be employed by Corning Glass Works. His assignment was to see what might be done by the glass industry to meet the challenge imposed by the newly introduced transparent plastics. This led him to review the early work done by Ladenburg and Kipping in the field of hybridizing silicon and organic chemistry. His invention of an organosilicon resin as a substitute for organic varnishes in the electrical industry was the first step, which led progressively to several hundred useful products having unusual physical properties.

Coming just before World War II, silicone resins, rubbers, greases, and fluids contributed immediately to extending the serviceability and range of ships and planes, and thus saved many lives. Silicones play a significant role in the design of space-age equipment. Hyde's most notable contributions include his creation of silicone from silicon compounds and his method of making fused silica, a high-quality glass later used in aeronautics, advanced telecommunications, and computer chips.

Throughout his career, Hyde's fundamental research regularly opened up new areas of practical application. He demonstrated new concepts in the polymerization and depolymerization of linear polymers and laid the foundation for the present process in silicone high polymer production. He later formulated a silicone rubber that would vulcanize at room temperature. The rubber is now used in such diverse applications as dental-impression materials, encapsulation of electronic equipment, and caulking compounds for windows and bathtubs. Medical applications for silicones developed by Dr. Hyde embrace the entire body, from the molding of prosthetic heart valves to repairing detached retinas.

Among the many honors bestowed on Dr. Hyde the Perkin Medal, awarded by the American Section of the Society of Chemical Industry (United Kingdom); and the J.B. Whitehead Award from the National Academy of Sciences.