Source: National Inventors Hall of Fame — H. Tracy Hall
source confidence: High status: Useful updated 2026-06-19
Summary
The National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee profile for H. Tracy Hall, published by the nonprofit organization that administers the Hall of Fame in partnership with the USPTO. Establishes Hall's induction status and recognizes his invention of the Belt apparatus and the first reproducible synthetic diamond synthesis.
Useful Claims
- H. Tracy Hall was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
- Hall invented the Belt apparatus, the high-pressure device used to produce the first reproducible synthetic diamonds at General Electric.
- The synthesis achievement at GE is attributed to Hall's apparatus design.
- Hall later moved to BYU and continued high-pressure research.
Verbatim
"The GE Research Laboratories announced on February 15, 1955 that H. Tracy Hall, along with Francis Bundy, Robert Wentorf, and Herbert Strong, had synthesized diamond from carbon in a process that was reproducible." — Inductee profile, synthesis narrative
"The first successful reproducible experiment was completed on the morning of December 16, 1954 by Hall in his unique "Belt" apparatus." — Inductee profile, synthesis narrative
"He worked at GE until 1955, then returned to Utah to become a professor and researcher at Brigham Young University." — Inductee profile, biography
Reliability Notes
The NIHF is an authoritative secondary source for confirming induction and the associated invention attribution. It is a curated institutional record rather than a primary document, so precise dates and technical details should be cross-checked against primary sources (patents, GE records).