Charles Goodyear's work is important to so many things we have in the 21st century. But his life and his work to create a stable rubber was full of problems -- many of them caused by Goodyear himself.

Research:
Britannica Editors. "Charles Goodyear". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Goodyear
“Charles Goodyear.” Who Made America? PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/goodyear_hi.html
“Charles Goodyear - Vulcanization of Rubber.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/charles-goodyear
“Charles Goodyear - Vulcanized Rubber.” Lemelson-MIT. https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/charles-goodyear
“Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber.” ConnecticutHistory.org. https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-rubber/
“Charles Goodyear’s Machine for Making Rubber Fabrics.” ConnecticutHistory.org. https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyears-machine-for-making-rubber-fabrics/
“Death of Charles Goodyear.” Carbondale Advantage. July 21, 1860. https://www.newspapers.com/image/638799032/?match=2&terms=%22charles%20goodyear%22
Goodyear, Charles. “Gum-elastic and its varieties : with a detailed account of its applications and uses, and of the discovery of vulcanization.” New Haven. Published for the Author. 1853. https://archive.org/details/gumelasticitsva121853good/
Goodyear, Charles. “IMPROVEMENT IN INDIA-RUBBER FABRICS.” United States Patent Office. June 15, 1844. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714081931/http://www.dpma.de/docs/service/klassifikationen/ipc/auto_ipc/us3633a.pdf
“Goodyear’s Gum Elastic Drapery and Parchment.” The Washington Union. May 4, 1837. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1038143941/?match=3&terms=%22charles%20goodyear%22%20mail
Iles, George. “Leading American Inventors.” H. Holt 1912. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=Hn0_AAAAIAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
“India Rubber Fabric.” Daily Cleveland herald. October 10, 1835. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1073496245/?match=1&terms=%22Charles%20Goodyear%22
Slack, Charles. “Noble Obsession: Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Century.” Hyperion. 2003.
Snow, Richard F. “Charles Goodyear.” American Heritage. April/May 1978. Vol. 29, Issue 3. https://www.americanheritage.com/charles-goodyear

Charles Goodyear's work is important to so many things we have in the 21st century. But his life and his work to create a stable rubber was full of problems -- many of them caused by Goodyear himself.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Britannica Editors. "Charles Goodyear".&nbsp;Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Goodyear</li>
<li>&ldquo;Charles Goodyear.&rdquo; Who Made America? PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/goodyear_hi.html</li>
<li>&ldquo;Charles Goodyear - Vulcanization of Rubber.&rdquo; National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/charles-goodyear</li>
<li>&ldquo;Charles Goodyear - Vulcanized Rubber.&rdquo; Lemelson-MIT. https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/charles-goodyear</li>
<li>&ldquo;Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber.&rdquo; ConnecticutHistory.org. https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-rubber/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Charles Goodyear&rsquo;s Machine for Making Rubber Fabrics.&rdquo; ConnecticutHistory.org. https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyears-machine-for-making-rubber-fabrics/</li>
<li>&ldquo;Death of Charles Goodyear.&rdquo; Carbondale Advantage. July 21, 1860. https://www.newspapers.com/image/638799032/?match=2&amp;terms=%22charles%20goodyear%22</li>
<li>Goodyear, Charles. &ldquo;Gum-elastic and its varieties : with a detailed account of its applications and uses, and of the discovery of vulcanization.&rdquo; New Haven. Published for the Author. 1853. https://archive.org/details/gumelasticitsva121853good/</li>
<li>Goodyear, Charles. &ldquo;IMPROVEMENT IN INDIA-RUBBER FABRICS.&rdquo; United States Patent Office. June 15, 1844. https://web.archive.org/web/20150714081931/http://www.dpma.de/docs/service/klassifikationen/ipc/auto_ipc/us3633a.pdf</li>
<li>&ldquo;Goodyear&rsquo;s Gum Elastic Drapery and Parchment.&rdquo; The Washington Union. May 4, 1837. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1038143941/?match=3&amp;terms=%22charles%20goodyear%22%20mail</li>
<li>Iles, George. &ldquo;Leading American Inventors.&rdquo; H. Holt 1912. Accessed online: https://books.google.com/books?id=Hn0_AAAAIAAJ&amp;source=gbs_navlinks_s</li>
<li>&ldquo;India Rubber Fabric.&rdquo; Daily Cleveland herald. October 10, 1835. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1073496245/?match=1&amp;terms=%22Charles%20Goodyear%22</li>
<li>Slack, Charles. &ldquo;Noble Obsession: Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Century.&rdquo; Hyperion. 2003.</li>
<li>Snow, Richard F. &ldquo;Charles Goodyear.&rdquo; American Heritage. April/May 1978. Vol. 29, Issue 3. https://www.americanheritage.com/charles-goodyear</li>
</ul>

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Stuff You Missed in History Class

Charles Goodyear's work is important to so many things we have in the 21st century. But his life and his work to create a stable rubber was full of problems -- many of them caused by Goodyear himself.

Charles Goodyear and Vulcanized Rubber

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