Post-it Notes inventor Spencer Silver dead at 80
The co-inventor of the ubiquitous Post-it Notes has died.
Spencer Silver, 80, died May 8 in his St. Paul, Minn., home, according to a published obituary. The artist, chemist and creator joined supply company 3M in 1966 and retired there 30 years later, after collecting 37 patents, including the one for Post-It Notes in 1974.
The company mourned his loss on its website, where it said Silver was known to friends as “Spence.” The adhesive used on Silver’s sticky notes was invented in 1968 at which time he reportedly called it a “solution waiting for a problem to solve.”
In 2010, Silver was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He leaves a wife, Linda, to whom he’d been married for 56 years, showing he knew how to create a truly long-lasting bond, too. Silver is also survived by a daughter and two grandchildren.
His sudden death was caused by a heart condition, according to Minnesota’s Star Tribune. A memorial is planned for the end of July.
