The first man-made plastic was created by Alexander Parkes who publicly demonstrated it at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London. The material, called Parkesine, was an organic material derived from cellulose that, once heated, could be molded and retained its shape when cooled.

Celluloid

Celluloid is derived from cellulose and alcoholized camphor. John Wesley Hyatt invented celluloid as a substitute for the ivory in billiard balls in 1868. He first tried using a natural substance called collodion after spilling a bottle of it and discovering that the material dried into a tough and flexible film. However, the material was not strong enough to be used as a billiard ball without the addition of camphor, a derivative of the laurel tree—celluloid was created when these were combined. The new celluloid could be molded with heat and pressure into a durable shape.

Besides billiard balls, celluloid became famous as the first flexible photographic film used for still photography and motion pictures. Hyatt created celluloid in a strip format for movie film. By 1900, movie film was an exploding market for celluloid.

Formaldehyde Resins: Bakelite

After cellulose nitrate, formaldehyde was the next product to advance the technology of plastic. Around 1897, efforts to manufacture white chalkboards led to the invention of casein plastics (milk protein mixed with formaldehyde). Galalith and Erinoid are two early tradename examples.

In 1899, Arthur Smith received British Patent 16,275 for "phenol-formaldehyde resins for use as an ebonite substitute in electrical insulation," the first patent for processing a formaldehyde resin. However, in 1907, Leo Hendrik Baekeland improved phenol-formaldehyde reaction techniques and invented the first fully synthetic resin to become commercially successful under the trade name Bakelite.

Timeline

Here is a brief timeline of the evolution of plastics.

Precursors

1839 - Natural Rubber - Method of processing invented by Charles Goodyear

1843 - Vulcanite - Invented by Thomas Hancock

1843 - Gutta-Percha - Invented by William Montgomerie

1856 - Shellac - Invented by Alfred Critchlow and Samuel Peck

1856 - Bois Durci - Invented by Francois Charles Lepage

Beginning of the Plastic Era With Semi-Synthetics

1839 - Polystyrene or PS - Discovered by Eduard Simon

1862 - Parkesine - Invented by Alexander Parkes

1863 - Cellulose Nitrate or Celluloid - Invented by John Wesley Hyatt

1872 - Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC - First created by Eugen Baumann

1894 - Viscose Rayon - Invented by Charles Frederick Cross and Edward John Bevan

Thermosetting Plastics and Thermoplastics