John C. Hostetter was born on February 18, 1886, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He studied chemical engineering at Bucknell University, where he received a B.S. in 1908, and an M.S. in 1909.
In his early career, Hostetter worked as a chemistry instructor at Bucknell University (1908-10), as a chemist at the U.S. Standards Bureau (1910-12), and as a physical chemist at the Geophysical Lab of the Carnegie Institute (1912-19). In 1919, he joined Corning Glass Works as manager of the Steuben division. He also held a variety of other positions, including assistant to the vice president (1922-24), manager of the company’s Rhode Island division (1924-28), and manager of the bulb and tubing department (1928-30). In 1930, he became director of research and development, a post he filled until 1937. From 1931 to 1936, he directed the task of casting the 200” disk.
After leaving Corning in 1937, Hostetter became vice president and director of research at Hartford-Empire Co., where he remained until 1944. From 1944 to 1949, he served as president of the Mississippi Glass Co., and was on the board of directors at Welsh Refractories Corporation from 1944 to 1950. In 1950, he retired to Winter Park, Florida, having received multiple awards for his contributions to science during his career. He died on April 2, 1962.
