James J. Broderick Papers

James J. Broderick was a prominent American flavor chemist. Born in Brooklyn, New York on September 14, 1920, Broderick was a 1938 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, where he developed an interest in chemistry. He entered the flavor chemistry field in 1939 when he was hired as a lab assistant by General Desserts. At General Desserts, he evaluated flavor samples and was permitted to develop a number of flavors on his own. Around 1940-1941, Broderick was hired by Drew Corporation of America, where he was put in charge of the firm’s flavor laboratory and eventually became responsible for flavor development. While gaining his formative experience at General Desserts and Drew Corporation, he attended night school at Cooper Union in New York City.

Broderick’s career as a flavor chemist was interrupted by military service in the United States Army during World War II, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant. After the war, Broderick returned to Drew Corporation for a time (circa 1945-1947), then worked at van Ameringen-Haebler, Incorporated (1947-1952), a Dutch flavor and fragrance manufacturer. He also completed his education during this time period, earning a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cooper-Union in 1949.

Broderick rose to a position of prominence in the flavor chemistry field between the early 1950s and mid 1960s. He held flavor chemist positions at Givaudan (1952-1955), a Swiss flavor and fragrance manufacturer, and Lever Brothers (1955-1960), a British household goods manufacturer. At Lever Brothers, he was introduced to the use of gas chromatography in flavor chemistry applications. Believing that the flavor industry had not grasped the full potential of this tool, he left Lever Brothers in 1960 to go into business for himself as a flavor chemistry consultant. Between 1960 and 1965, making extensive use of gas chromatography, Broderick helped to develop flavors for a number of firms.

In 1966, Broderick was named Laboratory Director by H. Kohnstamm & Company, an American chemical company. He enjoyed an illustrious twenty-two year career with this firm and rose through its corporate hierarchy, reaching the rank of Flavor Division Manager and serving on its Board of Directors. He retired from H. Kohnstamm in 1988.

Broderick was awarded two American patents and one Canadian patent over the course of his career. He also was the author of a number of articles and was active in professional and scientific organizations, which included serving as president of the Society of Flavor Chemists (1964-1965) and president of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (1985-1986).

James J. Broderick passed away on June 10, 2014.

Sources

James J. Broderick Papers, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.