Charles Goodyear

For other people named Charles Goodyear, see Charles Goodyear (disambiguation).
Charles Goodyear
Born(1800-12-29)29 December 1800
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Died1 July 1860(1860-07-01) (aged 59)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationEngineer
SpouseClarissa Beecher (m. August 1824)
Children
Parents
  • Amasa Goodyear (b. 1 June 1772, d. 19 August 1841)
  • Cynthia Bateman Goodyear
Engineering career
Projectsvulcanize rubber discovered in 1839, process perfected and patented in 1844.
Signature

Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American self-taught chemist[1][2] and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844.[3]

Goodyear is credited with inventing the chemical process to create and manufacture pliable, waterproof, moldable rubber.[4]

Goodyear's discovery of the vulcanization process followed five years of searching for a more stable rubber and stumbling upon the effectiveness of heating after Thomas Hancock.[5] His discovery initiated decades of successful rubber manufacturing in the Lower Naugatuck Valley in Connecticut, as rubber was adopted to multiple applications, including footwear and tires. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is named after (though not founded by) him.

  1. ^ Zumdahl, Steven; Zumdahl, Susan (2014). Chemistry (Ninth ed.). Belmont, California: Brookes Cole/Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-133-61109-7. Retrieved October 25, 2014. However, in 1839 Charles Goodyear (1800–1860), an American chemist,…
  2. ^ Haven, Kendall; Berg, Roni (1999). The Science and Math Bookmark Book:300 Fascinating, Fact-Filled Bookmarks. Englewood, Colorado: Teacher Ideas Press/Libraries Unlimited, Inc. ISBN 1-56308-675-1. Retrieved October 25, 2014. Famous Scientists: Charles Goodyear, chemist.
  3. ^ "United States Patent Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2015.
  4. ^ Hosler, D. (18 June 1999). "Prehistoric Polymers: Rubber Processing in Ancient Mesoamerica". Science. 284 (5422): 1988–1991. doi:10.1126/science.284.5422.1988. PMID 10373117.
  5. ^ Slack, Charles (2003). Noble Obsession, 225, Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-8856-3.