"Well, it was kind of an accident, because plastic is not what I meant to invent."
Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist
A few lucky individuals change history and, at the same time, make a lot of money. Such was the case with Belgian-born Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944), who proved to have a keen eye for opportunity and the drive and know-how to see a project to fruition.
Baekeland's first major invention was a dramatic improvement in photographic paper. Eastman Kodak purchased his invention (dubbed "Velox") for upwards of three-quarters of a million dollars in-1898. Freed from financial worry, Baekeland then had his days free to experiment in his laboratory. As the electronics industry grew in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, so did the demand for insulators. Greatly in demand at this time was shellac, a natural product made from a beetle indigenous to Asia. It also turned out to be a great insulator. Baekeland realized that given its high demand and limited supply, synthetic shellac would be a goldmine.
By mixing carbolic acid and formaldehyde in a controlled environment, Baekeland soon created a product that could be painted onto a surface, just like shellac, or be molded into almost any shape or form. The product, named Bakelite, was the first totally synthetic plastic and the forefather of the same product that is used today in bottles, computer keyboards, light switches, and countless other everyday products.
