Goodyear Essay, Research Paper
1. Life
Charles Goodyear was born in New
Haven, Connecticut in 1800. Charles was
the oldest child in his family and had
four brothers and a sister. He married
Clarissa Beecher in 1824. The y had 6
children, Ellen ,Cynthia, Sarah, a un-
named child, Charles Jr. ,and William .
Three of there children died from
disease . Sarah died at 3 Yr. ,an
unknown child died at 2 months and
son William died at 3 Yr. Most of his life
with his first wife and children were in
poverty . He remarried after the death of
his first wife to Fanny Wardeell of
London England. Charles died on July
1, 1860 himself a poor man ,the way he
spent almost all his life .
2. Education & Training
Charles had an average education .He
went to high school but not college. He
did do an apprenticeship in New York in
a hardware store. Charles was very
influenced in his early childhood by his
fathers interest in inventing things. His
father experimented with new types of
pitchforks, etc. Charles did not have
much education but was always
thinking of new inventions.
3. Work
In 1821, he worked with his father
in a hardware business. This business
failed in 1830 The y tried to expand to
quickly causing them to go bankrupt.
Then he used his talents to the
commercial improvements of India
rubber and inventing new things. India
rubber was not used in industry because
of the adhesives of the surface. It was too
sticky when hot and too brittle when
cold. Goodyear spent most of his life in
search of inventing a way to make
rubber stable and usable.
4.Discoveries & Achievements
Natural or India rubber was of
limited usefulness to industry. Rubber
products melted in hot weather, froze
and cracked in cold, and adhered to
everything. One day, one of Good years
early experiments was that he discovered
that lime made rubber softer and
workable. But his big breakthrough was
when he accidentally dropped some
rubber mixed with sulfur on a hot stove.
Goodyear?s discovery of what came to be
known as vulcanization strengthened
rubber so it could be applied . Goodyear
achieved very little recognition fo r
inventing the vulcanization process
before he died. He had a few companies
using his process and was earning some
money . He was satisfied knowing that
his dream of stabilizing rubber had
come true. Today the ?Goodyear Medal?
perpetuates the memory of Charles
Goodyear?s invention of the
vulcanization process, and is awarded
to honor individuals for outstanding
inventions.
5.Effect of his Work
Charles Goodyear?s major effect
on today is the use of rubber for a wide
range of products including tires .
Rubber is also used for other things such
as ……..mouse balls and for the little
buttons on TVclickers. (thank good ness
for rubber) Without rubber we would
still be wearing leather(ect.) soled
shoes. In 1844, vulcanization was
patented vulcanization strengthened
rubber so it could be used for a variety
of industrial uses, including automobile
tires eventually. Rubber also helped
make one of my favorites, snowmobile
tracks so I can go snowmobileing with
my dad at our camp in Vermont. I don?t
know what I would do without rubber.
Rubber changed ways of transportation
.Today almost everyone uses rubber
every day somehow.
6. Interesting Facts
Charles Goodyear was jailed on
many occasions because he had overdue
debts that he could not pay. Charles
Goodyear didn?t invent the tire yet he
has one of the biggest tire companies in
the world named after him . Charles
Good year had other inventions besides
vulcanization he also invented along
with his father improved pitchforks.