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- FREDERICK SALATHÉ, PhD
The youthful but progressive young state of Wyoming is fortunate in many ways, not the least one of these being the great number of men of acknowledged and conspicuous ability who have cast in their lots with her fortunes. Each calling, profession, vocation, that has its place in the wide range of the capabilities of the state has its representative men of the most distinguished order, men of not only preeminent ability in their respective spheres of action but also possessed of sterling character, animated by high principles, considering the public good through able, well-directed personal endeavor. Among the most distinguished of the sons of the state, standing in the foremost rank of the world’s great chemists, is Frederick Salathé, Ph.D., now of Casper. Wyo., whose distinctive talents and fame are bounded by no narrow horizon, but are known and honored by the most distinguished scientists of America and Europe.
Doctor Salathé was born at Basle, Switzerland, on May 8, 1857, the son of H. and Dorthoy (Baerwart) Salathe, also natives of Basle. They trace their Huguenot ancestry to a residence in France in the time of the Moorish wars in the years immediately antecedent to the middle of the sixteenth century, where they stood in the full splendor of the grace, courtesy and other brilliant qualities then attaching to the people of their faith, renowned alike as scholars, soldiers and lovers of country. The name was then spelled Saladdin, and the family enjoyed life in the sunny land of France until after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, when they were among the half-million of Protestants who fled to foreign countries, and locating in Basle, they soon became prominent as merchants and in civic life. The paternal grandfather was for long years the treasurer of the federal government of Switzerland, holding this office by repeated and consecutive elections until he resigned on his retirement from business. The father, also, was a successful merchant, and the originator of and the pioneer operator in the silk industry of Basle, which has attained such huge proportions and is now largely devoted to the manufacture of silk ribbons. Owing to the high reputation he had acquired as the leader in this industry and on account of his high moral character, business capacity and integrity, he was commissioned by President Grant as U. S. consul at Basle, retaining the appointment during Grant’s successive administrations. The Doctor’s maternal uncle, Edward Baerwart, was one of the leading merchants of Rio Janeiro, Brazil, during the past generation, and his extended mercantile operations (the wholesaling and importation of woolen goods) are now continued by the Doctor’s younger brother, Edward.
Receiving his preliminary educational training in the schools of Basle, Frederick Salathé supplemented this by an attendance at and a graduation from the Basle Industrial School, thereafter pursuing a full course of three years at the Federal Polytechnic School at Zurich, being graduated there from with the highest honors and acquiring thereby the appointment of assistant director of the Chemical Technical Laboratory under, first, Prof. E. Kopp and second. Prof. George Lunge, here remaining two years, within which time he had prepared his thesis for submission to the faculty of the University of Zurich upon the derivatives of aniline, for which he received the degree of Ph. D., after this the doctor invented the process by which aniline colors and dyes are manufactured from the refuse of petroleum oils. Applying for a patent in Switzerland, he came to this country to introduce his invention, and in 1879 he had suitable chemical works for his process erected in Titusville, Pa. These proved very successful under the doctor’s supervision until the tariff on aniline products was largely reduced, the price of certain necessary imported chemicals at the same time being increased, and these changed financial conditions caused the business to become unprofitable. Doctor Salathe was then employed as chief chemist of the Tidewater Oil, with headquarters at New York City, and introduced new processes of refining mineral oils, and from there was called to California by the Union Oil, with a salary of $10,000 and an interest in the plant to erect and conduct the first oil refinery operated in that state. Three years from this time his services were obtained by an English syndicate operating in Uvalde, Tex., to erect and put in operation a large plant for the refining of a natural asphaltic product, which the doctor named litho-carbon, and from which he produced various valuable commercial substances, useful in the manufacturing of artificial rubber and insulators for electricity. Accomplishing this labor the doctor established himself in Los Angeles, Calif., devoting his especial attention to lubricating oils, paving asphalts and the installations for the use of fuel-oils in all branches of railroad work and other industries, in this connection putting in the first oil burner used in a locomotive on the Santa Fe system, this being done on the California Southern Railroad, a branch of the Santa Fe. In 1897 Doctor Salathe was called to Wyoming to conduct the refining business of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas, and in this he is largely interested and has here introduced the latest processes for the refining of the Salt Creek oil, which he claims to be the finest natural oil of the world, his claim being supported by such eminent scientists as Redwood of London and others of equal reputation. The Doctor has also constructed the electric lighting plant of Casper and to his scientific skill the people are indebted for the excellent light they are privileged to enjoy, Mr. C. H. King being associated with him in this enterprise.
Doctor Salathé has attained the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite of Masonry, also is a Knight Templar and a member of the Royal Arcanum. In scientific circles his abilities have been acknowledged by his admission to numerous European scientific societies, general and special, being the German member of the National Chemical Society of Berlin, and he also affiliates with the American Society for the Advancement of Science.
The marriage ceremonies uniting Doctor Salathé and Miss Antionette Michaelis were solemnized on September 16, 1886. She is a native of New York, where her father, Edward Michaelis, who was born in Hamburg, Germany, has long conducted a prominent real-estate agency. Their children are Frederick, now attending a preparatory school preliminary to entering a university; Valerie, a student of the Casper high school; Antoinette and Edward. The family is one of the most popular in the community and its home is a center of attractive hospitality. [source: “Progressive Men of Wyoming” written by A. W. Bowen in 1901 transcribed by a Friend of Free Genealogy]
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1857 - 1923 (65 years)
. Valerie Lillian SALATHÉ, b. 24 Aug 1889, Jersey City, Hudson, New Jersey 
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