Did the chemists of WWI or the nuclear scientists of WWII leave a more ambivalent legacy?

[Ad_Quid_Orator]

Chemists who were active prior to and during WW1 developed a means by which ammonia could be produced industrially and be used as fertilizer, increasing agricultural output. However they also developed the means by which chemical weapons could be produced.

The nuclear scientists who were active during WWII developed the atomic bombs but they also pioneered the development of nuclear energy.

Chemists of WWI

Nuclear scientists of WWII

[goaded]

One chemical engineer managed to kill millions and harm the world.

"Thomas Midgley’s biggest and most deadly inventions include chemical antiknock agents, with tetraethyl lead being the principal one of them used in his leaded gasoline, the extraction of bromine from sea water, and the use of fluorine to produce refrigerating compounds. With his inventions, Thomas Midgley Jr. contributed to the poisoning of three generations of children, increased the risk of skin cancer and other skin problems related to exposure to UV rays, and contributed greatly to global warming."

https://interestingengineering.com/culture/thomas-midgley-jr-the-man-who-harmed-the-world-the-most

[jshm2]

Yeah, one of the chemicals produced was the same gas used to kill prisoners in the camps.

But I suppose it comes down to who you believed killed more people. The nuclear weapons or the chemical weapons.