Leo Baekeland

Leo Hendrik Baekeland (Known as "Father of the Plastics Industry")

Chemist, Inventor of Bakelite, Inventor of Velox Photographic Paper, Plastics Pioneer

Born Nov 14, 1863

Ghent, Belgium

Passed Away Feb 23, 1944 Beacon (New York), United States

Lifespan 80 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I was trying to make something useful, but in doing so, I stumbled into an entire material world that had never existed before."

Archival Overview

Ghent-born chemist revered as the 'Father of the Plastics Industry' who invented Bakelite (1907), the world's first synthetic thermosetting plastic, and Velox photographic printing paper.

Biographical Record

After earning a doctorate summa cum laude at the University of Ghent at age twenty-one, Baekeland moved to New York on a travelling fellowship. In 1893, he invented Velox, the first photographic paper that could be developed under artificial gaslight, selling the patent to George Eastman's Kodak for \$750,000.

In his home laboratory in Yonkers, Baekeland combined phenol and formaldehyde under controlled heat and pressure in his patented 'Bakelizer' in 1907. Bakelite—durable, non-conductive, and heat-resistant—ushered in the modern polymer age, transforming electrical insulation, radios, telephones, and automotive design.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Sleepy Hollow (New York), United States

                         GPS: 41.0967, -73.8589                    

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