Gloves, mitts, pads or what have you were used to protect the hands from heat and very sharp objects. They are the oldest form of body protection devices developed by man. Some sort of respiratory protection was in use over two thousand years ago for dusty atmospheres. The use of war gases led to the rapid development of the first gas masks, using charcoal and other materials as absorbants and inertants. After the Great War, chemical companies, realizing the value of gas masks, adapted them for emergency use.
Clothing is also an old form of body protection.
The two most recent forms of protective equipment are eye protective devices and the use of ventilation. Eye protection has developed as we know it mainly within the past fifty years or so. This came about when skilled labor began to be too expensive to replace. The lens manufacturers have developed many forms of eye protection, some specifically tailored to special industrial operations. Natural ventilation has always existed and had been the only form of ventilation until the industrial revolution.