In the annals of American invention, few figures embody perseverance so completely—or so tragically—as Charles Goodyear. He was not a chemist, not a trained scientist, and not a successful businessman. Above all, he was an optimist of uncommon resolve.
Against financial ruin, public skepticism, and his own limited technical knowledge, Goodyear devoted his life to solving a problem that baffled early industrial America: how to make rubber reliable. The process he helped perfect—later called vulcanization—would become foundational to modern industry, even as its creator died deeply in debt.
