Inventor: Charles Goodyear

Natural rubber was originally used by the Native Americans of Brazil and other parts of South America.  It was taken from the sap of trees which gave it the name of Caoutchouc, meaning “weeping wood”.  Before the time vulcanization, rubber products would not last in extreme temperatures, limiting their effectiveness.  They would melt in hot weather and crack in cold weather, leaving consumers angry with their products.  Many of them would return their ruined goods to the manufacturers, leaving the rubber industry greatly weakened, and on the verge of disappearing in America.  Goodyear was obsessed with improving the substance, performing countless experiments, even while in jail for failure to pay of debts.  He was forced to sell many of his household items in order to continue experimenting.  In 1936, he found that treating rubber with nitric acid would fix the problem to some extent.  He then found that removing sulfur from the rubber and heating it with steam for 4-6 hours at a heat of 270 degrees Fahrenheit would give him a substance that could withstand all types of weather.  This process of vulcanization resulted in the return of rubber to manufacture products, with the most famous modern use being for tires of automobiles and other vehicles.  Goodyear himself did not profit from his creation, because he spent much of life battling people who infringed on his patent rights.  Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. has no connection to any member of the Goodyear family; its name was chosen to honor the famed innovator.  Rubber today can be made the natural way, using tree sap, or also synthetically using petroleum products.

*Pictures from <http://www.big10tires.com/index2.html>

SOURCES:

Bellis, Mary. “The History of Vulcanized Rubber”, 17 Jan 2004, <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrubber.htm>

• This webpage gives a description of the history of rubber

Invent Now, “Hall of Fame Inventor Profile: Charles Goodyear”, Jan 2002, <http://www.invent.org/hall%5Fof%5Ffame/1%5F1%5F6%5Fdetail
.asp%3FvInventorID=68>

• This site has some basic information on the life of Goodyear

Readers Digest.  “Charles Goodyear and the Strange Story of Rubber” Jan 1958 <http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/strange.html>

• This site gives a very complete life story of Charles Goodyear and the creation of vulcanized rubber