Dr. Frederick Kasten, an expert on the beginnings of the textile, chemical and dye industries in Appalachia and America, will lecture at ETSU on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Kasten, who is also considered an expert on World Wars I and II, and even Clinchfield Railroad and Eastman Chemical’s early days and impact on Kingsport, will discuss “World War One and Origin of the American Dye Indusry” during his talk scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Dining Room 2 of the Culp Center.
Kasten is an internationally recognized scientist, known for his work in cell biology, biological staining, histochemistry, tissue culture and the history of medicine, and he has received numerous awards during his career of more than 45 years.
He spent the majority of his professional career at the Louisiana State University Medical Center before “retiring” to ETSU in 1995 to devote more time to his second career in the history of science and medicine.
For many years, Kasten, whose historical research has taken him to archives all over the world, has been uncovering documentation on the medical crimes committed by Nazi medical professors on prisoners at Natzweiler Concen-tration Camp.
As past president of the Biological Stain Commission, Kasten has investigated the origin of the American dye industry, including the early chemical and dye industry in Appalachia.
This work led him to the remarkable World War I saga of the voyages of the German merchant submarine Deutschland to the United States.
This story and the development of the American dye industry are presented in his talk.
In this talk, Kasten discusses factors that led to the worldwide supremacy of the German dye industry by 1914 and tells of the surprise arrival in America of the Deutschland, the world’s first merchant submarine, in 1916 with more than one million pounds of dyes.
He describes events that occurred during World War I that affected the wartime American textile industry and led to the emergence of the country’s organic chemical and dye industry.
These happenings included the Allied blockade of German shipping and subsequent “dye starvation” in America, which resulted in the revival of use of natural dyestuffs.
Kasten also describes the local dye industry, mentioning the role of the Clinchfield Railroad in bringing industry to Kingsport, including one of the country’s first major wartime dye factories, the Federal Dyestuff and Chemical Corp. in 1917, as well as Tennessee Eastman Corp. (now Eastman Chemical Co.) in 1920.
Kasten will deliver this talk in conjunction with a dinner meeting of the Southern Appalachian Chapter of Sigma Xi, a scientific research society.
Reservations and payment of $12 per person ($6 for students) are required in advance for the 6:30 p.m. dinner.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Anyone who wishes to attend the lecture only may arrive in time for the 7:30 p.m. discussion.
For more information, dinner reservations, or special assistance or seating for persons with disabilities, call (423) 439-6717.

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