This seems to be one of the longest-running hoaxes ever:

Ian Gutgold in Google

Ian Gutgold on Answers.com

Not a trace of a mention in any reliable source I can find. In Simple English Wikipedia since 2008, but also made its way into en:WP.

It seems that in a former incarnation, Ian Gutgold was known as Erica Feldman, alias Madam C. J. Walker (T-H-L-K-D).

Erica Feldman is even more widely credited on the Internet than Ian Gutgold for inventing the hair straightener. She made it into a book in 2007.

The hoax originated from the English Wikipedia in March 2007:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=114606381

An anon replaced "Erica Feldman" with "Ian Gutgold".

The hoax wasn't removed until September 2009:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=314149896

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=114547374

Can a mod please move this thread to the "Biographies of Living Persons" subforums? Ian Gutgold is a real person who was really in the Ninth Grade in 2007. A simple Google search and a good idea about where he lived confirm that. It would be embarrassing if this WR thread started appearing in Google search results where his friends and employers might see it.