Orlando Aloysius Battista

Orlando Aloysius Battista (June 20, 1917 – October 3, 1995), also frequently referred to as O.A. Battista, was a Canadian-American chemist and author. A devout Catholic, he was notable in his writing for not shying away from advertising his religious beliefs as well as his scientific ones.

Battista was born in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, as the seventh of eight children. His father was a long-time Canadian government employee. As a child, he was an altar boy and earned money via shoveling snow and a newspaper route. He began writing at the age of twelve, after saving enough money to buy a typewriter.

“An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.”

Books

• How to Enjoy Work and Get More Fun Out of Life (1957)
• God's World and You (1957)
• Fundamentals of High Polymers (1958)
• The Challenge of Chemistry (1959) Illustrated by Gil Cohen.
• The Power to Influence People (1959)
• Mental Drugs; Chemistry's Challenge to Psychotherapy (1960)
• Common Science in Everyday Life (1960)
• Toward the Conquest of Cancer (1961)
• Synthetic Fibers in Papermaking (1964)
• A Dictionary of Quotations (1966)
• Childish Questions (1973) With Helen Keffer Battista. Illustrated by Keiko Couch.
• Research for Profit (1974)
• Microcrystal Polymer Science (1975)
• People Power (1977)
• O. A. Battista's Quotations : A Speaker's Dictionary (1977)
• Olympiad of Knowledge—1984 (1981)
• Amazing Habits of Ants

Letters

• Awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by St. Vincent College in 1955.
• Awarded the Anselme Payen Award by the American Chemical Society Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division in 1985.
• The American Chemical Society held a symposium honoring Battista on April 9, 1987 in Denver, Colorado.