Leo Hendrik Baekeland

The Bakelizer: National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution: A National Historic Chemical Landmark, November 9, 1993. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1993.

Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944): Plastic

Baekeland was an American chemist who invented photographic paper in 1893. His most famous invention, Bakelite, was an inexpensive, nonflammable, versatile plastic, which marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry. Bakelite is a synthetic resin composed of phenol and formaldehyde patented in 1907. It is the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated.  Radios, telephones and electric insulators were made of Bakelite because of its excellent electrical insulation and heat resistance. Baekeland was awarded the Franklin Medal in 1944 for his useful and diverse plastic substance.

This catalog commemorates the designation of the original Bakelizer as a National Historic Chemical Landmark.