Leo Baekeland belongs to the record of technology as a figure whose work outlasted the moment that produced it.
The record lists Leo Baekeland as Belgium American inventor (1863-1944).
Leo Baekeland was born at Ghent in 1863. His recorded nationality is Belgium. He was educated at Ghent University.
The nineteenth century professionalised nearly everything: salaried posts, formal training, and audiences large enough to sustain a career.
The record gives his occupations as chemist, engineer and photographer.
His affiliations include Ghent University.
The work that carried his reputation furthest concerned inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893, and Bakelite in 1907. Technical work compounds - each layer makes the next one cheaper to attempt.
The surviving body of work includes Bakelite.
His recorded fields of work are chemistry and technology.
The honours are a fair index of how the work was received - National Inventors Hall of Fame (1978).
That the work was done from Belgium matters. Opportunity has never been evenly distributed, and where a person is based shapes which doors open and whose work gets seen.
Leo Baekeland died in 1944 at the age of 81. The work outlived the arguments around it.
Achievements
- National Inventors Hall of Fame — 1978
- Notable work: Bakelite
- Affiliated with Ghent University
- Educated at Ghent University
- Worked as chemist, engineer and photographer
