John A. Anthes

Captain John Allen Anthes (1913-2015) was a chemical engineer who worked in the Special Materials section of the Madison Square Area of the Manhattan District in New York City. Born in Janesville, WI, he attended the University of Minnesota, earning a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering in 1934 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1938. Due to his enrollment  in ROTC in college he was a Reserve Officer, and  was activated in November 1940 in the Ordnance Corps. He transferred to the Corps of Engineers in 1943 to work on the Manhattan Project.

His work in Special Materials involved working in areas where the Army did not want it known that the Army was involved, so he was authorized to wear civilian clothing in wartime. This was done through a cover organization called S.A.M Labs, affiliated with Columbia University. His work primarily involved development and acquisition of fluorinated compounds to be used in uranium processing at Oak Ridge. He worked with DuPont Corp. and other companies who were developing and manufacturing products known by the code names C-216, C-616, C-716, C-816, C-2144, K-416, C-2144 and Product 891A. He also attended scientific conferences where the Army wanted to keep informed about what was being discussed without disclosing its interest in the subject of atomic energy.

After leaving the Army in 1946, he worked as a chemical engineer with American Cyanamid in Connecticut and Dravo Corporation in Pittsburgh, where he retired as Manager of Research in 1979.