10 Forgotten Historical Figures You Didn't Know Changed Your Life

We take a lot of things for granted in modern society. When you hear someone complaining about the cost and lack of comfort in air travel just remind them that they're flying in the air!

Leo Baekeland's contribution to society is also overlooked. Take a look around you, count how many items around you are made of, or have components made of, plastic. That plane we discussed earlier has plastic components by the way.

Like many life changing innovations Baekeland didn't do this alone, many people and ideas came before Baekeland's 'Bakelite', such as Alexander Parkes, Eugen Baumann, but it was Baekeland who produced the first fully synthetic plastic.

He made a great deal of money selling a new kind of photographic paper in 1899. Now rich, he began experimenting with polymers because he suspected it would be lucrative. Dude was spot on.

Baekeland created Bakelite in 1907. Bakelite was an instant success: it was cheap, non-flammable, could be easily moulded and made to retain its shape. Its status as a non-conductor of electricity put it in high demand in the burgeoning electrical and automotive industries.

The Bakelite slogan was “The Material of a Thousand Uses”. It was used in radios, cars, jewellery, household implements and toys, pretty much all the things we use plastics for today.