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Charles Frederick Wallace (1885-1964) Wallace & Tiernan, Inc., Belleville In 1913, when nearly 30,000 Americans were dying each year from typhoid fever as a consequence of drinking contaminated water, Charles Wallace invented the "chlorinator" which provided the first practical and effective means for the controlled feeding of chlorine gas to sterilize drinking water. The accomplishment was heralded as a major advancement in the field of public health. Wallace’s device could automatically pipe a thimble or so of chlorine gas into 1 million parts of water. The device was first used at the Boonton reservoir that served as the water supply for Jersey City. At the time, pollution from a small stream was threatening the water supply. Martin F. Tiernan, Wallace’s partner, convinced Jersey City’s water department that the chlorinator could solve their pollution problems for only $150. The device was installed in a blacksmith’s shop near the reservoir, but a gas leak turned the blacksmith’s tools green and he threw the device into the reservoir. After fishing the device out of the water, it was hooked up again and worked properly. Wallace's first invention was so successful that within a few years the Wallace & Tiernan device was being used to purify half the world's drinking water supply. In addition to the chlorinator, Wallace held 80 patents for devices such as pressure-sensitive instruments, telemetering systems, and timing devices used in marine beacons, foghorns and other aids to navigation. In 1940, Wallace received the Modern Pioneer Award of the National Association of Manufacturers. Born in Kansas City, Mo., he attended the University of Michigan in 1906, and in 1922. In 1922, Wallace and Tiernan were jointly awarded the Franklin Institute’s Edward Longstreth Medal for their chlorinator invention.