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John Rex Whinfield
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<p>John Rex Whinfield <a href="/facts/Order_of_the_British_Empire/HlY9buuN">CBE</a> (16 February 1901 in <a href="/facts/Sutton%2c_London/5hvTXJ21">Sutton</a>, <a href="/facts/Surrey/xTGvM5Vk">Surrey</a>, <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a> – 6 July 1966 in <a href="/facts/Dorking/8dbUoEns">Dorking</a>, Surrey) was a British chemist. Together with James Tennant Dickson, Whinfield investigated <a href="/facts/Polyester/Ivp9CHpl">polyesters</a> and produced and patented the first polyester fibre in 1941, which they named <a href="/facts/Terylene/Sc5UhmCB">Terylene</a> (also known as <a href="/facts/Dacron/Sc5UhmCB">Dacron</a>) equal to or surpassing <a href="/facts/Nylon/hBvG9bCw">nylon</a> in toughness and resilience. </p>