Leo Baekeland

Leo Baekeland (1863–1944) was a Belgian-American chemist and inventor who developed Bakelite, a durable thermosetting plastic, in 1907.

Hendrik Baekeland: Hendrik Baekeland was a Belgian physician and the father of chemist Leo Baekeland. His son’s early education and scientific ambitions began within this Belgian family.
Phenol-formaldehyde resin: A synthetic resin formed by reacting phenol with formaldehyde. Baekeland controlled this reaction to create the material sold as Bakelite.
Velox photographic paper: Velox was a photographic paper that could be printed under artificial light. Baekeland’s success with Velox gave him the financial independence to pursue resin research.
Bakelite: Bakelite is a trade name for a hard, heat-resistant phenol-formaldehyde plastic. It is the material most directly associated with Baekeland’s invention.
Adolf von Baeyer: Adolf von Baeyer was a German chemist who synthesized phenolic resins before Baekeland developed Bakelite. Baeyer’s difficult-to-control resin experiments posed the problem Baekeland later solved.
Phenol: Phenol is an aromatic organic compound used to make resins, pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals. It supplies the aromatic units in the resin Baekeland developed.
George Eastman: George Eastman was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company. Kodak acquired Velox, the photographic paper Baekeland had developed.
Synthetic plastic: Synthetic plastics are moldable materials made from chemically synthesized polymers. Bakelite became a landmark example of a plastic made entirely from synthetic ingredients.
John Wesley Hyatt: John Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor who developed celluloid as a commercial substitute for ivory. His celluloid preceded Bakelite as a commercially successful synthetic plastic.
Formaldehyde: Formaldehyde is a simple reactive aldehyde used in resins, disinfectants, and chemical manufacturing. It links phenol molecules during the resin-forming reaction.

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Synthetic polymerRelated: His 1907 material demonstrated that a useful plastic could be made synthetically.