Bill Pittendreigh
Encyclopedia
Bill Pittendreigh was a business executive and was highly involved in promoting the textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 industry in the late 20th century.

Pittendreigh was born in 1914, in Lancaster, South Carolina
Lancaster, South Carolina
Lancaster is a city in Lancaster County, South Carolina which is in the United States and is located 35 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina and 20 miles east of Rock Hill, South Carolina. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 10,160. It is the county seat of...

 and died in 1999 in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

.

He was elected president of the Southern Textile Association
Southern Textile Association
The Southern Textile Association, or STA, was established in 1908. It is a nonprofit organization for individuals in the textile and related industries who have a common interest in all phases of textile manufacturing....

 for a one year term in 1956, after serving that organization for as Vice President in 1955. He was given that organization's highest honor, the Dave Clark Award in 1967.

He wrote "A Short Study In Textiles" in 1982, which was used as a textbook in several American universities during the 1980s and 1990s. He was President of Georgia-Alabama Traffic Association,1967. He was appointed by Governor Richard Riley
Richard Riley
Richard Wilson Riley , American politician, was United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th Governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party....

 in 1980 to the South Carolina Legislature Textile Study Commission, which he served on for many years. After he retired, Pittendreigh served as Industrialist in Residence at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....

's School of Textiles.

Throughout the 1960s he served as a consultant with several developing nations in Africa in helping establish or modernize their textile industries.

He was also highly involved in research. Pittendreigh frequently referred to the textile industry as "humanity's oldest industry," referring to the biblical story of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...

's covering with fig leaves as evidence. However, Pittendreigh constantly argued that research in the field of textiles was lacking and continually called for companies to invest more in research and development. At the beginning of his career he was a minor participant in a project that helped develop parachutes
Parachutes
Parachutes is the debut album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released by the record label Parlophone on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, excluding one track which was produced by Chris Allison...

 using nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

 rather than imported Japanese silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

. He helped develop types of disposable diapers and held a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

on one such product.
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