Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and engineer (born 1863)

Leo Baekeland

Belgian chemist (1863–1944); inventor of Bakelite

Leo Hendrik Baekeland was a Belgian chemist. Educated in Belgium and Germany, he spent most of his career in the United States. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893, and Bakelite in 1907. He has been called "The Father of the Plastics Industry"…