William Crowell Bray (2 September 1879 – 24 February 1946) was an American chemist, born in Canada, best known for his work on the mechanisms of inorganic oxidation-reduction reactions in aqueous solutions.
Bray spent three years in Leipzig in the school of Wilhelm Ostwald where, under the direction of Professor Robert Luther, he studied for his PhD, which was awarded in 1905.
Joel Henry Hildebrand wrote in his memoir of Bray that: Here, in addition to continuing his research activity, he played a prominent part in developing the methods in both undergraduate and graduate instruction which have had wide influence throughout the United States.
[3]During World War I there were many victims of carbon monoxide poisoning in sites of incomplete combustion, such as battleship turrets, and so there was an urgent need to develop gas masks.
Bray and several colleagues, in association with the Defense Research Section of the Chemical Corps led to the preparation of Hopcalite, an effective mixed-oxide catalyst for the low temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide, which is still in use today.