Used with
permission of Maiken Naylor, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA,
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/exhibits/stamps
Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944) was a Belgian inventor who worked in the United States. From phenol and formaldehyde he developed the first plastic impervious to heat, water, and solvents which he called bakelite. This substance had important applications in electronics and the automotive industry, and was followed by the countless number of synthetic plastics in use today.