The inventor of the adhesive used on the Post-it Note Spencer Silver has died on May 8 at his home at the age of 80, revealed the company 3M which produces the product, and his published obituary. He had cardiac ailments unrelated to a heart transplant that he underwent 27 years ago, said his wife, Linda Silver. Silver is survived by his wife of 56 years, Linda, a daughter, and two grandchildren.
According to 3M, Silver was working in a company lab in 1968 when he discovered a unique adhesive formula. The adhesive allowed notes to be easily attached to surfaces, removed, and even re-posted elsewhere without leaving residue like other glues. Silver looked for several years for practical use for the adhesive, calling it a “solution waiting for a problem to solve”.
The Post-it Note was credited to two principal inventors — Dr. Silver, tasked by 3M in 1968 with creating a new super-strong adhesive, and Art Fry, a colleague who discovered an application for the intriguing substance that Dr. Silver produced.
The product was originally called the Press ‘n’ Peel memo pad in 1974, but it wasn’t brought to the market until 1977 and didn’t really take off until 1980 after renamed as the Post-it Note. Now it’s one of the top-selling items in 3M’s consumer products division.
Spencer Ferguson Silver III was born in San Antonio on Feb. 6, 1941. His father was an accountant, and his mother was a secretary. Dr. Silver moved to Phoenix at age of 13 and received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Arizona State University in 1962. He received a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder four years later and was hired the same year to work in 3M’s research laboratory. Silver retired as a corporate scientist in 1996 and earned 37 patents during his time at 3M. He also won several awards, including the 1998 American Chemical Society Award for Creative Invention.
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