Belgium-born chemist Leo Baekeland was the inventor of Bakelite, a type of plastic that marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry. This 1886 portrait shows him at age 23. Leo H. Baekeland Papers, 1863-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.Belgium-born chemist Leo Baekeland was the inventor of Bakelite, a type of plastic that marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry. This 1886 portrait shows him at age 23. Leo H. Baekeland Papers, 1863-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Belgium-born chemist Leo Baekeland was the inventor of Bakelite, a type of plastic that marked the beginning of the modern plastics industry. This 1886 portrait shows him at age 23. Leo H. Baekeland Papers, 1863-1968, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.