--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Harris, F. S. - Butt, N. I. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 28 number: 4 published: 1925-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "F. S. Harris and N. I. Butt, “Heroes of Science,” *Improvement Era 28, no. 4 (February 1925)*: 340–342." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2804unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2804unse start_page: 340 end_page: 342 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1925-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2804unse publication_year: 1925 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1925, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Heroes of Science HEROES OF SCIENCE By Pres. F. S. Harris and N. I. Butt Of the Brigham Young University 8. Goodyear When you seem to be knee deep in black discouragement and you are wondering whether anyone was ever so unfortunate as you, the story of the life of Charles Goodyear should give you heart. Dis- couragement was his lot for half a lifetime, but he fought onward until he finally came out triumphant. His plucky fight to learn the secret of making rubber useful should be known by everyone. By a happy coincidence Goodyear was born in 1800, the year in which rubber, the product he was to bring into common use, was first brought to America in the crude form. He was born of old New England stock. His father was a hardware merchant of the typical Yankee sort who was always ingeniously improving the quality of his wares. From his father, Charles undoubtedly gained some of his ability to look on the things he was handling with a critical eye that he might make improvements. In youth, while at his studies, Charles showed his ability to stick to a task. The more difficult the lesson, the more determined he was to master it. As with most youths, it was difficult for him to decide on a career, although because of his religious inclination, he thought some of entering the ministry. By the time Goodyear had reached the age of 1 7 he had chosen to enter the mercantile business. Therefore he went to Philadelphia and served as an apprentice in a hardware store until he had mastered the trade. Then he returned home and went into partnership with his father. It was a very busy life he led because they were inventing and manufacturing improved tools during the portions of the day when they were not selling the goods. At the age of 24 he married one who must have been a very faithful wife for, with never a complaint to her husband, she went through all the hardships that were soon to commence. Perhaps had she been of a different temperament Goodyear would never have dis- covered rubber vulcanizing. Two years after their marriage, Charles left his father to start in the hardwood business for himself in Philadelphia. He did well, but as is too frequently done, he gave his customers more credit than the trade could stand, and soon found himself so deeply in debt that he was forced out of business. He might have appealed to the law and declared himself bankrupt but he chose to pay off the debts with- out going through this process. The laws in those days stated that anyone who could not pay his debts might be imprisoned, and this HEROES OF SCIENCE 341 is exactly what happened to Goodyear for many years following his failure. While he was in prison the first time Goodyear decided to be- come an inventor and this pursuit he followed the rest of his days. Since youth he had always been fascinated with the qualities of the crude rubber then in use. At that time it resembled dough, — always sticky, fermenting easily, failing to hold its shape when warm, and freezing almost like a rock in cold weather. Naturally in either warm or in cold weather, it was a most disgusting material to wear when made into overshoes and coats. Most all manufacturing companies that tried to manufacture rubber goods in those days failed. Goodyear talked with one of the discouraged manufacturers and learned of the perplexing difficulties they were having, and had his opinions confirmed about the great possibilities for the use of rubber if the disagreeable qualities could be eliminated. He decided that by sticking to the work of perfecting rubber he would be doing a great work for his own good as well as for the welfare of others. Through- out the rest of his life he kept to his purpose in spite of hundreds of disheartening process difficulties, starvation, rebukes by friends, and jail sentences by creditors. Being practically penniless Goodyear did much of his early experi- mentation to perfect rubber in his own home. He rolled the rubber out with his wife's rolling pin and used only simple materials in attempting to improve the quality. Some of the first mixtures he tried looked so good that he induced a friend to advance him a little capital and made hundreds of fine looking and comfortable rubber shoes for sale. But he never sold them. When warm weather came, every one of the shoes melted into formless, doughy masses of rubber and Goodyear not only lost what they cost, but he also lost the con- fidence of practically all of the friends who might lend him money. They told him the best thing he could do would be to forget his ideas about rubber and secure employment in a hardware store where he could earn a living. Undaunted, however, he went to New York where a friend pro- vided him with lodging and he induced a good-natured druggist to advance him the chemicals he needed to carry on his experiments. Soon he met with a little encouragement by discovering that rubber which is coated with magnesia and boiled in lime lost its undesirable sticki- ness. In a fair in 1835 this new rubber took first prize. But there was a gross defect in rubber treated in this way — it would break to pieces when stretched only slightly and its use, therefore, was very limited. Unpromising as was his progress thus far, Goodyear kept "plug- ging along." Hour after hour and day after day he mixed new chemicals with his rubber "dough." Then one day he discovered that nitric acid would take out the stickiness and cure the rubber much better than anything he had tried before. He returned home, and he 342 IMPROVEMENT ERA and his wife made rubber table cloths, aprons, and other articles which were so good that they sold readily and for a time good fortune began to appear. A wealthy man who saw some of the improved rubber went into partnership with Goodyear and preparations were made to manufacture on a large scale. Just then, however, the panic of 1836 came along leaving the man bankrupt, and stopping the sale of the rubber so completely that Goodyear was soon almost penniless and remained so for several years. The final triumph began when Goodyear commenced to experi- ment with rubber to which sulphur had been added. Even after he was on the right track however, he lost hundreds of dollars which be had borrowed, because his goods, especially a large order of mail bags for the Government, were defective. When he finally discovered that the perfect rubber we know today must be mixed with sulphur, the moneyed men had lost confidence in him, and he was often thrown into prison for his debts. Along with other difficulties his health failed him and nothing appeared promising even though his goods were almost as perfect as are the rubber goods of today. The road to commercial production on a large scale was finally cleared when a relative lent Goodyear enough money to begin manu- facturing. The products withstood all the requirements called for by the customers and the sales began to increase tremendously. After ten years of patient experimenting, success was beginning to come to the inventor. But as soon as the rubber was perfected impostors began to claim the discovery, and it required years of litigation before Good- year's rights were fully upheld. While the discoverer never reaped a fortune from rubber, he gained fame and had the satisfaction of knowing that he brought into the world one of the most valuable products we have. In the form of rubber boots, overshoes, raincoats, etc., it is almost indispensable to our health. Even before Goodyear's death, rubber was used for making fire hose, suspenders, a great number of playthings such as balls, and for the insulation of electric wire. Since his time the uses have been extending over a wider field each year until today there is hardly a human activity in which rubber is not needed. Provo, Utah Prayer for Peace O Father, bid the doves of Peace Descend down from above, Bid sin and hate and war to cease; Fill earth with thy pure love. Oakland, California. ANNIE G. LAURITZEN