Baekeland, Leo Hendrik

Baekeland, Leo Hendrik

▪ American chemist
born Nov. 14, 1863, Ghent
died Feb. 23, 1944, Beacon, N.Y., U.S.

      U.S. industrial chemist who helped found the modern plastics (plastic) industry through his invention of Bakelite, the first thermosetting plastic (a plastic that does not soften when heated).

      Baekeland received his doctorate maxima cum laude from the University of Ghent at the age of 21 and taught there until 1889, when he went to the U.S. and joined a photographic firm. He soon set up his own company to manufacture his invention, Velox, a photographic paper that could be developed under artificial light. Velox was the first commercially successful photographic paper. In 1899 Baekeland sold his company and rights to the paper to the U.S. inventor George Eastman (Eastman Kodak Company) for $1,000,000.

      Baekeland's search, begun in 1905, for a synthetic substitute for shellac led to the discovery of Bakelite, a condensation product of formaldehyde and phenol that is produced at high temperature and pressure. Though the material had been reported earlier, Baekeland was the first to find a method of forming it into the thermosetting plastic. Baekeland received many honours for his invention and served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1924.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Baekeland,Leo Hendrik — Baeke·land (bākʹlănd ), Leo Hendrik. 1863 1944. Belgian born American chemist who developed the first plastic to harden permanently after heating. * * * …   Universalium

  • Baekeland , Leo Hendrik — (1863–1944) Belgian–American industrial chemist Baekeland was born in Ghent and educated at the university there, graduating in 1884. He was professor of physics and chemistry at Bruges in 1887 and returned to Ghent the next year as assistant… …   Scientists

  • Baekeland, Leo (Hendrik) — born Nov. 14, 1863, Ghent, Belg. died Feb. 23, 1944, Beacon, N.Y., U.S. Belgian born U.S. industrial chemist. A teacher of chemistry in Belgium, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1889. He invented Velox, the first commercially successful photographic… …   Universalium

  • Baekeland, Leo Hendrik — ► (1863 1944) Químico belga. Fue el inventor del plástico baquelita …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Baekeland, Leo (Hendrik) — (14 nov. 1863, Gante, Bélgica–23 feb. 1944, Beacon, N.Y., EE.UU.). Químico industrial estadounidense nacido en Bélgica. Fue profesor de química en Bélgica y emigró a EE.UU. en 1889. Inventó el Velox, el primer papel fotográfico comercialmente… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Baekeland, Leo Hendrik —  (1863–1944) Belgian born American chemist who invented Bakelite …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Leo Hendrik Baekeland — Leo Hendrik Baekeland. Leo Hendrik Baekeland (* 14. November 1863 in Gent; † 23. Februar 1944 in Beacon, New York) war ein belgisch amerikanischer Chemiker und Erfinder. Baekeland entwickelte in den Jahren 1905 bis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leo Hendrik Baekeland — Leo Baekeland Leo Baekeland Leo Hendrik Baekeland, né en 1863 à Gand et mort en 1944, est un chimiste belge, connu pour ses recherches en photographie et sur les matières plastiques. Biogra …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Leo Hendrik Baekeland — (Gante, 14 de noviembre de 1863 – Beacon, Nueva York, 23 de febrero de 1944) fue un químico de origen belga, que desarrolló entre otros inventos la baquelita y el papel fotográfico Velox. Baekeland recibió el título en Química en la universidad… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Baekeland — Leo Hendrik …   Scientists

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