Green, Don W. - The University of Kansas

whom had careers that were related to engineering. He had inherited the book from his
father and I think he wanted to pass the leadership along to a person who was close to
him, and almost like family.
McGraw-Hill Book Co., with John H. Perry as the editor, first published the
Chemical Engineer’s Handbook in 1934. He was an employee of DuPont Co. at the time.
John Perry edited the first three editions. Bob Perry assumed editorship after his father’s
death in 1953. Bob had received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of
Delaware, under Professor Robert Pigford, a very well-known chemical engineering
educator. As indicated earlier, Bob was a professor at OU when he became editor of the
Fourth Edition.
I was delighted to receive Bob’s invitation to join him in working on the
Handbook. At the time I was a professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at KU,
having been here since 1964. My wife and I visited Bob in London over our spring break
in March 1978. We spent a week with the Perry’s, over which time we talked and made
plans about the Handbook, but also took time to sightsee in London and travel together.
At the end of the week we agreed that I would be a Section editor for the Sixth Edition
and become Co-editor for the Seventh.
In November 1978, I received a shock to learn that Bob had been killed in an
accident in London. He had gone to the post office to pick up a letter that related to the
Handbook. He stepped out in front of a car, was hit and killed instantly. At the request
of Gail, his wife, and McGraw-Hill, I assumed the editorship of the Sixth Edition.
Bob had initiated work on the Sixth Edition, but there was much work to be done.
There were also some legal issues surrounding ownership of the book that had to be
18