Tracing the History of Polymeric Materials, Part 4: Leo Baekeland and the Birth of Bakelite

In 1863, a year after Parkesine, the first nitrocellulose plastic, received a bronze medal at the Great International Exhibition in London, Leo Baekeland entered the world in Belgium. Born to illiterate parents, Baekeland earned a PhD at 21 under Theodore Swarts, chief assistant to Friedrich August Kekulé, the chemist who first described the benzene ring that underpins modern polymer science. He also cultivated a passion for photography while working with a local chemist who produced Europe’s first photographic dry plates.

Those early plates relied on harsh, temperamental developers. Baekeland’s insight was to coat the plate with a water‑soluble emulsion that could be activated by dipping in water. The result was patented in Belgium in 1887, streamlining the photographic process and reducing hazardous chemicals.

In 1889 Baekeland and his wife moved to New York, where he joined Richard Anthony’s firm—an early pioneer of photographic films, papers, and cameras. The company later acquired the Goodwin Camera and Film Company, which had introduced celluloid film two years before George Eastman, though its patent remained unissued for 11 years.

After two years with Anthony and a period of independent consulting, Baekeland focused on a new photographic paper. Two years of research yielded a silver‑chloride emulsion that could be developed under artificial light—no sun required. He named the product Velox, a breakthrough that won favor among amateur photographers and caught George Eastman’s eye. In 1898 Eastman purchased Baekeland’s company for $750,000, roughly $22 million today, under a non‑compete that barred him from photography research for 20 years.

Free from commercial obligations, Baekeland turned his laboratory to a pressing industrial problem: the scarcity of shellac, the natural resin used as an electrical insulator and phonograph record material. Shellac’s production required over 100,000 lac beetles per kilogram and had a low melting point (~75 °C), making it unsuitable for high‑temperature applications.

Baekeland’s five‑year investigation culminated in a 1907 patent for “Improvements in Methods of Making Insoluble Condensation Products of Phenols and Formaldehyde.” He coined the name Bakelite—the first truly synthetic, thermosetting polymer. The custom reactor he designed was called a Bakelizer. Though the term Bakelite still appears in some literature, the material is now broadly classified as phenolic.

Phenolics combined the advantages of mica and porcelain—excellent electrical insulation and heat resistance—with superior strength, stiffness, impact resistance, and chemical durability. Their viscoelastic character, reminiscent of ivory, made them ideal for billiard balls, fulfilling John Wesley Hyatt’s quest for an ivory substitute.

Baekeland’s work laid the groundwork for the modern plastics industry, bridging chemistry, photography, and electrical engineering. His legacy continues to inform material selection, process design, and innovation in polymer science.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Sepe is an independent materials and processing consultant based in Sedona, Ariz., serving clients across North America, Europe, and Asia. With more than 45 years in the plastics industry, he advises on material selection, design for manufacturability, process optimization, and failure analysis. Contact: (928) 203‑0408 • mike@thematerialanalyst.com