Robert Frank Borkenstein
Robert Frank Borkenstein was an American police officer and scientist, and inventor of the Breathalyzer.Biography
Borkenstein was born on August 31, 1912 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In 1938, Borkenstein collaborated with Rolla Neil Harger of the Indiana University School of Medicine developing the Drunkometer. He joined the Indiana State Police in 1936 and was later promoted to captain in charge of the police force's forensic laboratory. He later went on to invent the Breathalyzer in 1954.
Borkenstein did a lot of early work on the polygraph. and was a sought after expert on the device.
Borkenstein was inducted into the Safety and Health Hall of Fame International in 1988. He became a widower in 1999 when Marjorie K. Buchanan, his wife, died.
Borkenstein died on August 10, 2002 in Bloomington, Indiana at the age of 89.
