Charles Goodyear was an American inventor born on December 29, 1800, in New Haven, Connecticut, best known for developing vulcanization, the process that hardens rubber so it can withstand heat and cold. In the 1830s, rubber was considered a miracle material but melted in summer and cracked in winter, nearly collapsing the industry. Determined to solve the problem, Goodyear spent years experimenting in makeshift laboratories, often in his wife’s kitchen, enduring poverty, toxic fumes, and time in debtor’s prison. In 1839, he accidentally discovered that heating rubber mixed with sulfur caused it to harden instead of melt, and he patented the process in 1844, naming it vulcanization after the Roman god of fire. Despite revolutionizing the rubber industry and laying the groundwork for products like tires, Goodyear died deeply in debt in 1860, thoug ...