Samuel Ruben (1900-1988)

The story of Duracell begins in the early 1920's with an inventive scientist named Samuel Ruben and an eager manufacturer of tungsten filament wire named Philip Rogers Mallory. Ruben came to the P.R. Mallory Company seeking a piece of equipment he needed for an experiment. But Ruben and Mallory saw an opportunity: uniting the one's inventive genius with the other's manufacturing muscle. Their partnership, which would last until 1975 with Mallory's death, was the bedrock of Duracell International.

Samuel Ruben's inventions revolutionized battery technology. Amidst World War II, for instance, Ruben devised the mercury cell, which packed more capacity in less space and was durable enough for the harsh climates of wartime theaters like North Africa and the South Pacific — places where ordinary zinc carbon batteries used in flashlights, mine detectors, and walkie-talkies couldn't hold up. P.R. Mallory manufactured millions of mercury cells for the war effort. The Mallory Battery Company was formed shortly thereafter. The mercury cell has now largely been phased out due to its environmental impact.