Leo Baekeland
#167438 Most Popular
About
Chemist who invented the first synthetic plastic, which he called Bakelite.
Before Fame
He already had his doctorate degree at 21.
Trivia
He developed a new type of photographic paper and sold the rights to Eastman Kodak, for which he was paid $1 million.
Family Life
He fell in love with his professor's daughter and eloped with her to America.
Associated With
He was awarded the Franklin Medal in 1940, which Thomas Alva Edison had also received in 1915.
