Vulcanized Rubber
Charles Goodyear, USA, patent 3,633 of 1844. Heat-sulfur curing that made rubber useful year-round.
Overview
Goodyear spent years obsessed with gum elastic, accidentally finding sulfur-heat curing around 1839 and patenting vulcanization in 1844. He fought infringers to his death in debt, famously defending his patent to the Supreme Court and winning in 1852. Horace Day's challenges made Goodyear a cause celebre of inventor rights. Tires, hoses, and seals all descend from the process. The Goodyear tire company, named in homage, formed 38 years after his death.
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