Richard G. Drew

Richard G. Drew (June 22, 1899 – December 14, 1980) was a real-world American inventor who worked for Johnson and Johnson, Permacel Co., and 3M in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he invented masking tape and cellophane tape.

Background
When Drew joined 3M in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1920, it was a modest manufacturer of sandpaper. While testing their new Wetordry sandpaper at auto shops, Drew was intrigued to learn that the two-tone auto paint jobs so popular in the Roaring Twenties were difficult to manage at the border between the two colors. In response, after two years of work in 3M's labs, Drew invented the first masking tape (1922), a two-inch-wide tan paper strip backed with a light, pressure-sensitive adhesive.

In 1925 he came up with the world's first transparent cellophane adhesive tape (called sellotape in the UK and Scotch tape in the United States). In the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, people began using tape to repair items rather than replace them. This was the beginning of 3M’s diversification into all manner of marketplaces and helped them to flourish in spite of the Great Depression.

Fallout world
In Fallout 3, Drew is mentioned as the inventor of adhesive tape on a plaque in the Museum of Technology, making it a clear reference to the real world person. He, along with three other inventors, are described "some of the more overlooked American Inventors". They were depicted by the Contemporary Artist Lincoln Myers in a frame near the plaque, though unfortunately in 2277, the picture is no longer there.