• New York Times, Wednesday, July 22, 2009 10:44 AM

John S. Barry, the man who was largely responsible for turning WD-40 into a product that at least one survey says is present in 80% of American homes, died earlier this month in San Diego. He was 84.

Barry wasn't present at the creation of WD-40, which stands for "water displacement, formulation successful in 40th attempt." He was trained as a mechanical engineer and also had a master's degree in business from MIT. After succeeding his father-in-law as president of the company, writes Douglas Martin, he brought it "marketing coherence and discipline."

Barry acknowledged in interviews with Forbes that other companies, including 3M and DuPont, made products that closely resembled WD-40. "What they don't have," he said, "is the name."

The company's Web site contains an official list of 2,000-plus uses for the product "from gum, sticker and crayon removal, to cleaning grease and corrosion protection," many of which were discovered by consumers. And an FAQ section addresses such myths and legends as "WD-40 cures arthritis," which it says appears in tabloid headlines regularly. "No way," it dutifully reports. But, inexplicably, there's no mention of Barry.

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