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Wilder Dwight Bancroft (October 1, 1867 – February 7, 1953) was an Americanphysical chemist.
Born inMiddletown,Rhode Island, he was the grandson of historian and statesmanGeorge Bancroft and great-grandson ofAaron Bancroft. He received aB.A. fromHarvard University in 1888, and aPh.D. fromUniversity of Leipzig in 1892, as well as honorarySCDs fromLafayette College (in 1919) andCambridge University (in 1923).
He was an assistantchemistry instructor atHarvard University from 1888–1889 and 1893–1894, then a full instructor from 1894-1895. He then became an assistant professor atCornell University in 1895, then a full professor (at Cornell) in 1903. He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1913,[1] a Member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1920,[2] and was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences in 1920.[3]
Bancroft was trained byWilhelm Ostwald andJacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, and introduced a number of thermodynamic and colloid-chemical concepts into Americanphysicochemistry. He is known for theBancroft rule: a predominantly hydrophilic emulsifier stabilizes an oil-in-water emulsion, whereas a predominantly hydrophobic emulsifier stabilizes a water-in oil emulsion.
The lunar craterBancroft is named in his honor.
His daughter, Mary Warner Bancroft (1896–1967), married another Cornell chemistry professor,Melvin Lorrel Nichols (1894–1981).
