Thomas Edison.

Bill Gates.

Henry Ford.

And…

The Ancient Europeans?

While we’ve previously given you a brief look at the history of adhesives, we thought we’d take a look at some of the individuals or groups who helped paved the way for the adhesives industry today.  You likely know the first three on this list as some of the most important inventors who helped shape our history and the world we live in today, but we’d bet that you are confused why the ancient Europeans also appear on that list. While they may not get the same recognition as the other great innovators on the list above, the ancient Europeans deserve the same respect and admiration for their role in creating a product you likely have within arm’s reach of where you’re sitting now.

The following list is just a few of the great minds in our industry:

• The ancient Europeans gave us the earliest hints of a glue-like substance, all the way back during the Middle Pleistocene (Ionian Stage) era. Stone flakes were discovered in Italy to be covered with a birch-bark tar. This means that the original traces of adhesives dates back to over 126,000 (and could be up to 781,000) years ago!
• Fast forward to more recent history and you’ll find that commercialization of adhesives took a long time. It wasn’t until 1690 that a glue plant was founded in Holland that sold casein glue, but it took another hundred years to make its way to the United States. The first glue factory in the United States was created by Elijah Upton in Boston in 1808. Elijah was interested in eliminating waste from hides as he was a currier and tanner, and started to manufacture the waste into glue.
• Cyanoacrylates (Super Glue) were accidently discovered in 1942. Credited with the invention of Super Glue, a team lead by Harry Coover was experimenting with acrylates for use in the war. Unsuccessful at the time, it eventually caught on ten years later and became a very successful product among the hundreds of patents Harry held when he died.
• American Sealants founder Vernon Krieble developed anaerobic threadlocking adhesives in 1953. A Pennsylvania native, Dr. Krieble was a pioneer in our industry.

We’re grateful for the creative minds of our past, and are excited for the future. If you’re interested in learning more we encourage you to check out the great books from the Harvard and University of Michigan Library that are linked above. They go into vast detail, and give you a great lesson on the technology of adhesives and the American Glue Company.