Leo Baekeland 256703 225987725 2008-07-16T09:57:31Z 74.78.162.229 /* See also */ {{Infobox Person |name=Leo Hendrik Baekeland |image= |caption=(1863-1944) |birth_date=[[November 14]] [[1863]] |birth_place=[[Ghent]], [[Belgium]] |death_date={{Dda|1944|2|23|1863|11|14}} |death_place=[[Beacon, NY]], [[USA]] |known_for=[[plastics]] research |occupation=[[chemist]]/[[inventor]] }} '''Leo Hendrik Baekeland''' ([[Ghent]], [[November 14]], [[1863]] - [[February 23]], [[1944]]) was a [[Belgian-American]] [[chemist]] who invented [[Velox (paper)|Velox]] photographic paper ([[1893]]) and [[Bakelite]] ([[1907]]), an inexpensive, nonflammable, versatile, and popular [[plastic]]<ref name="heritage"> {{cite web |url=http://www.chemheritage.org/classroom/chemach/plastics/baekeland.html |title=Chemical Achievers: Leo Hendrik Baekeland |publisher=Chemical Heritage Foundation |date=2005 |accessdate=2007-11-08 }} </ref><ref name="time"> {{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/baekeland.html |title=Time 100: Leo Baekeland |first=Ivan |last=Amato |date=1999-03-29 |accessdate=2007-11-08 }} </ref>. Born in [[Ghent, Belgium]], Baekeland was the son of a cobbler and a maid. Upon completing his doctorate at the [[University of Ghent]], he emigrated to America in [[1889]]<ref name="heritage"/>. Baekeland sold his [[patent]] for Velox photographic paper to the president of [[Kodak]], [[George Eastman]], for $1,000,000<ref name="time"/>. The invention of Bakelite is the beginning of the [[Age of Plastics]]<ref name="time"/>. Bakelite was made from [[phenol]] (then known as carbolic acid) and [[formaldehyde]]. These can be mixed, heated, and then either molded or extruded<ref name="heritage"/><ref name="time"/>. The [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] winning [[Germany|German]] [[Adolf von Baeyer]] had experimented with this material in [[1872]], but did not complete its development. Bakelite took the industry by storm after [[1907]]<ref name="heritage"/>. Bakelite was the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated. [[Radio]]s, [[telephone]]s and [[electrical insulator]]s were made of Bakelite because of its properties of insulation and heat-resistance. Soon it penetrated nearly all branches of industry<ref name="time"/>. ==The invention of Bakelite== When asked why he entered the field of synthetic resins, Baekeland answered "to make money". His first objective was to find a replacement for [[shellac]] (made from the excretion of lac beetles)<ref name="heritage"/>. Chemists had begun to recognize that many of the natural resins and fibers were polymers. Baekeland began to investigate the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde. He first produced a soluble phenol-formaldehyde shellac (called "Novolak" that never became a market success). Then he turned to developing a binder for asbestos, which at that time was molded with rubber. By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde, he could produce his dreamed-of hard moldable plastic: bakelite<ref name="heritage"/>. The official name of Bakelite is polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride<ref name="time"/>. ==Decline and death== As Baekeland got older, he became more eccentric, getting into fierce battles with his son (and presumptive heir) over salary and other issues. He sold the General Bakelite Company to [[Union Carbide]] in 1939, and at his son's prompting, he retired. He became a recluse, eating all of his meals from cans and becoming obsessed with developing an immense tropical garden on his Florida estate. He died of a [[cerebrovascular accident|cerebral hemorrhage]] in a sanatorium in [[Beacon, New York]]. Baekeland is buried in [[Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]] <ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7704571 Find A Grave Memorial: L. Baekeland]</ref>. Leo Baekeland was the grandfather of Brooks Baekeland, whose wife [[Barbara Daly Baekeland]] was murdered by their son, Antony in 1972. == Name == Baekeland told ''The [[Literary Digest]]'': "The name is a Dutch word meaning 'Land of Beacons,' '' Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.) ==See also== * [[Bakelite]] * [[Bakelite Museum]] * [[Plastics]] == References == <references/> == External links== *[http://www.chemheritage.org/classroom/chemach/plastics/baekeland.html Chemical Achievers: Leo Hendrik Baekeland] *[http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/baekeland.html The Time 100: Leo Baekeland] *[http://juliensart.be/bakeliet Virtual Bakelite Museum of Ghent 1907-2007] *[http://www.bakelitemuseum.de A virtual Bakelite museum with a short biography of Leo Baekeland] *[http://www.baekelandfonds.com The Baekeland fund] ==Further reading== * {{cite encyclopedia | last = Farber | first = Eduard | title = Baekeland, Leo Hendrik | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]] | volume = 1 | pages = 385 | publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons | location = New York | date= 1970 | isbn = 0684101149 }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Baekeland, Leo}} {{Presidents of the American Chemical Society}} [[Category:1863 births]] [[Category:1944 deaths]] [[Category:American inventors]] [[Category:Belgian Americans]] [[Category:Belgian chemists]] [[Category:American chemists]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]] [[Category:People from Florida]] [[Category:People from Ghent]] [[Category:People from Dutchess County, New York]] [[Category:Polymer scientists and engineers]] [[Category:Ghent University alumni]] [[Category:Perkin Medal]] [[de:Leo Hendrik Baekeland]] [[es:Leo Baekeland]] [[fr:Leo Baekeland]] [[gl:Leo Baekeland]] [[it:Leo Baekeland]] [[lv:Leo Bekelands]] [[nl:Leo Baekeland]] [[ja:レオ・ベークランド]] [[pl:Leo Hendrik Baekeland]] [[pt:Leo Baekeland]] [[sq:Leo Hendrik Baekeland]] [[sk:Leo Hendrik Baekeland]] [[fi:Leo Hendrik Baekeland]] [[sv:Leo Baekeland]] [[vi:Leo Hendrick Baekeland]]