# Timeline of plastic development

This is a timeline of the development of plastics, comprising key discoveries and developments in the production of plastics.

## Pre 19th Century

| Year | Event |
| 1600 BC | Mesoamericans use natural rubber for balls, and figurines. |
| 1000 BC | First written evidence of Shellac. |
| Middle Ages | Europeans use treated cow horns as translucent material for windows. Japanese and Chinese use ox horns for the same purpose, as well as for shades of oil lamps. |

## 19th Century

| Year | Event |
| 1839 | Eduard Simon, a German apothecary, discovers polystyrene. |
| 1844 | Thomas Hancock patents the vulcanization of rubber in Britain immediately followed by Charles Goodyear in United States. |
| 1856 | Parkesine, the first member of the Celluloid class of compounds and considered the first man-made plastic, is patented by Alexander Parkes. |
| 1869 | John Wesley Hyatt discovers a method to simplify the production of celluloid, making industrial production possible. |
| 1872 | PVC is accidentally synthesized in 1872 by German chemist Eugen Baumann. |
| 1889 | Eastman Kodak successfully files a patent for celluloid film. |
| 1890s | Galalith, a plastic derived from casein, is developed by Wilhelm Krische and Adolph Spitteler. |
| 1890s | Auguste Trillat discovers the means to insolubilize casein by immersion in formaldehyde, producing material marketed as galalith. |
| 1894 | Shellac phonograph records are developed and soon become an industry standard. |
| 1898 | The German chemist Hans von Pechmann first synthesizes polyethylene while investigating diazomethane. |

## 20th Century

| Year | Event |
| 1907 | Bakelite, the first fully synthetic thermoset, is reported by Leo Baekeland using phenol and formaldehyde. |
| 1912 | After over 10 years' research, Jacques E. Brandenberger develops a method for producing cellophane and secures a patent. |
| 1926 | Waldo Semon and the B.F. Goodrich Company develops a method to plasticize PVC by blending it with various additives. |
| 1930 | Neoprene is produced for the first time at DuPont. |
| 1930s | Polystyrene is first produced by BASF. |
| 1931 | RCA Victor introduces its vinyl-based Victrolac compound for records. Vinyl records have twice the groove density of shellac records with good sound quality. |
| 1933 | The first industrially practical polyethylene synthesis is discovered by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) works in Northwich, England. |
| 1935 | Nylon is invented and patented by DuPont. |
| 1938 | Nylon is first used for bristles in toothbrushes. It features at the 1939 World's Fair and is famously used in stockings in 1940. |
| 1938 | Polytetrafluoroethylene (commonly known as teflon), discovered by Roy Plunkett at DuPont. |
| 1941 | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is discovered at the Calico Printers' Association in Britain. Expanded polystyrene is first produced. |
| 1950 | DuPont begin the manufacture of polyester. |
| 1951 | J. Paul Hogan and Robert L. Banks from Phillips polymerize propylene for the first time to produce polypropylene. |
| 1953 | Polycarbonate is independently developed by Hermann Schnell at Bayer and Daniel Fox at General Electric. |
| 1954 | Polypropylene is discovered by Giulio Natta with production starting in 1957 |
| 1954 | Expanded polystyrene, used for building insulation, packaging, and cups, is invented by Dow Chemical. |
| 1957 | The Italian firm Montecatini begins large-scale commercial production of isotactic polypropylene. |
| 1960s | High-density polyethylene bottles are introduced; they will replace glass bottles in most applications. |
| 1965 | Kevlar is developed at DuPont by Stephanie Kwolek |
| 1980s | Polyester film stock replaces cellulose acetate for photographic film and computer tapes. |
| 1988 | The first polymer bank notes are issued in Australia |