Farrington Daniels
Environmentalist
Pioneer in the use of solar power, who made the earliest serious research into practical solar energy application. He won the Priestley Medal for his work in solar energy in 1957.
He served in WW I in the Chemical Warfare Service, and after the war worked briefly on the Manhattan Project, before leaving when he saw the U.S. was not interested in nuclear power plants.
Abandonment of nuclear research allowed him to focus on solar energy, and he made some of the earliest solar-powered cooling, cooking and distillation machines.
He grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Craig Hill, born about 50 years after him, continued his research into creating practical applications for solar power.