Charles Washington Merrill

Charles Washington Merrill (December 21, 1869 – February 5, 1958) was an American mining metallurgist.He was born in Concord, New Hampshire, to Sylvester and Clara L. (née French) Merrill.In 1899, he became affiliated with the widely known Homestake Mining Company of South Dakota as a metallurgist, and in this capacity he manifested the brilliant talents which became the foundation of his future career.He held over 25 patents in the United States and foreign countries relative to metallurgical processes and mining apparatus.During World War I he accepted the position of chief of the Division of Collateral Commodities in the Food Administration at the request of Herbert Hoover.