Historical Timeline

1839 — Charles Goodyear discovers vulcanization of rubber (accidentally, with sulfur and heat).

1907–1909 — Leo Baekeland synthesizes Bakelite (first fully synthetic thermosetting polymer, phenol + formaldehyde).

1920s — Hermann Staudinger establishes the concept of macromolecules (polymers); Nobel Prize 1953.

1935 — Wallace Carothers (DuPont) develops nylon-6,6 — first synthetic polyamide.

1938 — Roy Plunkett (DuPont) accidentally discovers PTFE (Teflon).

1939 — Nylon stockings introduced commercially; first commercial nylon product.

1939–1941 — PET $\frac{Dacron}{Terylene}$ developed by J.R. Whinfield and J.T. Dickson.

1950s — Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta develop Ziegler-Natta catalyst → HDPE; Nobel Prize 1963.

1952 — Great London Smog kills ~4,000 people; wakes up public awareness of air pollution.

1970 — First Earth Day. Environmental awareness movement begins.

1974 — Molina and Rowland propose the CFC-ozone depletion hypothesis; Nobel Prize 1995.

1985 — British Antarctic Survey discovers the Antarctic ozone "hole."

1987 — Montreal Protocol adopted: international agreement to phase out ozone-depleting CFCs.

1989 — Minamata disease officially recognized in Japan (mercury poisoning, first cases 1956).

1997 — Kyoto Protocol: first international agreement targeting greenhouse gas emissions.

2000s — PHBV and other biodegradable polymers introduced commercially as sustainable alternatives.

2015 — Paris Agreement: 195 nations commit to limiting global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

~2050–2060 — Projected full recovery of stratospheric ozone layer (if Montreal Protocol maintained).