William N. Sullivan (June 23, 1908 - March 2, 1979) was an American entomologist who is widely credited with co-inventing the aerosol bomb or "bug bomb," with Lyle D. Goodhue, while employed by the United States Department of Agriculture. The "bug bomb" was developed for aircraft disinsection through the dispersion of insecticide for controlling mosquitoes. The invention proved invaluable in the Pacific Theater during World War II where it was used extensively to control the spread of insect borne disease - primarily malaria - which was causing far more casualties than actual combat. Personal life and education Sullivan was born on June 23, 1908, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, one of eight children born to Katherine (Lynch) and William N. Sullivan, Sr. between 1898 and 1910. Three of his siblings died at young ages; Katherine as a toddler of unknown causes, Frances as an infant of whooping cough, and Mary at age 20 of tuberculosis. William received his early education in the public schools of Lawrence, graduating from Lawrence High School in 1926. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1930 from Massachusetts Agricultural College (MAC), now the University of Massachusetts Amherst and then a Master of Science degree (Entomology Major) in 1939, also from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. William was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) as an undergraduate student at Massachusetts Agriculture College, and he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army 3rd Cavalry Division, Reserves at graduation. William N. Sullivan never married and had no children. Career The majority of Sullivan's career was with the United States Department of Agriculture (May 18, 1931 - May 5, 1942, and July 21, 1947 - June 30, 1978). He served in the United States Army Air Force during and after World War II (May 5, 1942 - July 21, 1947), entering as a commissioned 1st Lieutenant and rising to Major before being honorably discharged. In the late 1930s, the first of Sullivan's scientific innovations occurred as a result of his interest in the emergence of global air transportation and the possible damage that aircraft travel could do by spreading insects dangerous to humans, crops, and animals. At that time, a crude hand sprayer was used to disperse a solution of pyrethrum in kerosene with the hope of killing some of the insect hitchhikers. Sullivan joined with Dr. Lyle D. Goodhue, an accomplished chemist, to