When was charles goodyear born

Vulcanizing It was not until , after much hardship and time spent in jail for debt, that Goodyear landed on a solution. He found that by uniformly heating sulfur- and lead-fortified rubber at a relatively low temperature, he could render the substance melt-proof and reliable. He patented his process in June , licensed it to manufacturers, and showcased it at exhibitions.

Vulcanized rubber could be used to manufacture shoes, waterproof clothing, life jackets, balls, hats, umbrellas, rafts The Goodyear Name Following his success, Goodyear fought to protect his process from competitors and endured patent battles.

He died in , on the eve of the Civil War. Goodyear, Charles. New York, NY, issued June 15, New Haven: Charles Goodyear, Boston, CT: The Firm, Slack, Charles. Mangan, Gregg. On This Day in Connecticut History. Charleston, SC: History Press, Geer, William Chauncey. The Reign of Rubber. New York: The Century Company, Peirce, Bradford K. Video: Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Imagining Connecticut. Other CT Humanities Programs. The unusually hot summer had melted their inventory into a reeking, worthless paste. Melting was not the only shortcoming of natural rubber. Cold makes it stiffen and crack, and even at room temperature, it was too soft to keep its shape and tended to stick to everything it touched.

Goodyear, who was by then obsessed with rubber, was not discouraged. He began experimenting, mixing dry powders into the rubber in order to make it less soft and sticky. Goodyear made some progress but no money. His family nearly starved, and he was jailed for his debts along the way.

His first real breakthrough came in , when he discovered that nitric acid made the rubber surface smooth, dry, and non-sticky. His improved rubber won Goodyear a contract from the U. Post Office in Boston. Poor again, Goodyear kept working. His next breakthrough came when he tried adding sulfur to the rubber.