Leo Baekeland

In 1978, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Correction: John Quincy Adams, the 6th President of the United States, was actually the earliest President of whom a photograph exists, though it was not taken until 1843. Baekeland's great-grandson, Anthony Baekeland spent several years in a psychiatric hospital after murdering his mother, Barbara Daly Baekeland; ironically, he suffocated himself with a plastic bag in 1981. Martin Van Buren is the earliest President of whom of a photograph exists though it was taken years after his presidency between 1840 and 1862. Baekeland is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York. One of his most well known nicknames was Old Kinderhook, claimed to be a possible origin for OK, the popular expression in the English language and other languages of the West. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in a sanatorium in Beacon, New York. Van Buren had several different nicknames during his lifetime, including Martin Van Ruin, Log Cabin Democrat and The Little Magician.

He sold the General Bakelite Company to Union Carbide in 1939, at his son's prompting, retired, and eventually became a recluse, eating all of his meals from cans and becoming obsessed with developing an immense tropical garden on his Florida estate. Van Buren appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:. As Baekeland got older, he became more eccentric, getting into fierce battles with his son (and presumptive heir) over salary and other issues.
. Baekeland appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine on September 22, 1924. His last words were: "There is but one reliance...". Baekeland made Swinburne the chairman of the new Bakelite Limited, his British subsidiary. on July 24, 1862.

Baekeland visited England in 1916 and met James Swinburne, who almost ten years earlier had coincidentally experimented with and created a material identical to Bakelite only to find that Baekeland had been awarded the patent the day before. Martin Van Buren died of bronchial asthma and heart failure at his Lindenwald estate in Kinderhook at 2:00 a.m. Baekeland became a multimillionaire as a result of the explosion in the manufacture and use of Bakelite. In the election of 1860 he voted for the fusion ticket in New York which was opposed to Abraham Lincoln, but he could not approve of President Buchanan's course in dealing with secession, and eventually supported Lincoln. The official name of Bakelite was polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride. In 1848 he was again nominated, first by the "Barnburner" faction of the Democrats, then by the Free Soilers, with whom the "Barnburners" coalesced, but no electoral vote was won by the party. By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde, he could produce his dreamed hard moldable plastic: bakelite. In the Democratic convention, though he had a majority of the votes, he did not have the two-thirds which the convention required, and after eight ballots his name was withdrawn.

Then he turned to developing a binder for asbestos, which at that time was molded with rubber. He confidently expected to be nominated for president in 1844, and his famous letter of April 27, in which he frankly opposed the immediate annexation of Texas, though doubtless contributing greatly to his defeat, was not made public until he felt practically sure of the nomination. He first produced a soluble phenol-formaldehyde shellac (called "Novolak" that never became a market success). It was even proposed to make him a member of the Federal Supreme Court in order to get him out of political life. Baekeland began to investigate the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde. On the expiration of his term, Van Buren retired to his estate, Lindenwald, in the town of Kinderhook, but he did not withdraw from politics or cease to be a figure of national importance. Chemists had begun to recognize that many of the natural resins and fibers were polymers. The revolt against Democratic rule was undoubtedly serious, but a study of the popular vote shows that the election of Harrison, the Whig candidate, was less of a revolution than many affected to think.

His first objective was to find a replacement for shellac (at that time made from the shells of lac beetles). Charged with being "a Northern man with Southern principles," he was frequently interrogated and attacked with the nickname Martin Van Ruin during the campaign, and his nomination obviously failed to arouse enthusiasm or even inspire confidence. When asked why he entered the field of synthetic resins, Baekeland answered "to make money". Nevertheless, Van Buren was unanimously renominated by the Democrats in 1840 Despite his having overseen the trail of tears. Soon it penetrated nearly all branches of industry. The state elections of 1837 and 1838 were disastrous for the Democrats, and the partial recovery in 1839 was offset by a second commercial crisis in that year. Radios, telephones and electrical insulators were made of Bakelite due to its properties of insulation and heat-resistance. No exhibition of ability or courage, however, nor yet the "most skilful manipulation of the political machinery of the party," could prevent continued hostility to him and to the methods for which he was widely believed to stand.

Bakelite was the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated. Van Buren announced his intention "to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor," took over all but one of Jackson's cabinet, and met with statesmanlike firmness the commercial crisis of 1837, already prepared for before he took office. Bakelite took the industry by storm after 1907. Van Buren's presidential victory represented more of a victory for Jackson rather than for Van Buren. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry winning German Adolf von Baeyer had experimented with this material in 1872, but did not complete its development. Calhoun, bitterly hostile to the last, objected to the usual vote of thanks to the retiring vice-president, but withdrew his objection. These can be mixed, heated, and then either molded or extruded. He expressed himself plainly on the questions of slavery and the bank, at the same time voting, perhaps with a touch of bravado, for a bill offered in 1836 to subject abolition literature in the mails to the laws of the several states.

Bakelite was made from phenol (then known as carbolic acid) and formaldehyde. In May 1835 Van Buren was unanimously nominated by the Democratic convention at Baltimore. The invention of Bakelite is considered the beginning of the Age of Plastics. Jackson was now determined to make Van Buren president in 1836, and bent all his energies to that end. Baekeland sold his patent for Velox photographic paper to the president of Kodak, George Eastman, for $750,000. In the election of 1832 he received 189 electoral votes, while Jackson received 219 for President. After completing his doctorate at the university of his native city, he emigrated to America in 1889, inspired by the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. This is one possible origin of the expression "OK," although there are many other possible origins and the topic is much disputed.

Born in Ghent, Belgium, Baekeland was the son of a cobbler and a maid. During Van Buren's presidential campaign the Democratic Party popularized his nickname "Old Kinderhook," which was abbreviated as "OK." Supporters' groups known as "OK Clubs" were set up. Leo Hendrik Baekeland (November 14, 1863 - February 23, 1944) was a Belgian-born American chemist who invented Velox photographic paper (1893) and Bakelite (1907), an inexpensive, nonflammable, versatile, and popular plastic. His declarations during the campaign were vague regarding the tariff and unfavorable to the United States Bank and to nullification, but he had already somewhat placated the South by denying the right of Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia without the consent of the slave states. No platform was adopted, the widespread popularity of Jackson being relied upon to win success at the polls. In May, the Democratic convention, the first held by that party, had nominated him for vice-president on the Jackson ticket, despite the strong opposition to him which existed in many states.

After a brief tour on through Europe, Van Buren reached New York on July 5. The rejection, ostensibly attributed in large part to Van Buren's instructions to Louis McLane, the American minister to England, regarding the opening of the West Indies trade, in which reference had been made to the results of the election of 1828, was in fact the work of Calhoun, the vice-president; and when the vote was taken enough of the majority refrained from voting to produce a tie and give Calhoun his longed-for "vengeance." No greater impetus than this could have been given to Van Buren's candidacy for the vice-presidency. He was cordially received, but in February learned that his nomination had been rejected by the Senate on January 25. In August, he was appointed minister to England, and arrived in London in September.

In April 1831, Van Buren resigned, though he did not leave office until June. Jackson in December 1829 had already made known his own wish that Van Buren should receive the nomination. After the breach between Jackson and Calhoun, Van Buren was clearly the most prominent candidate for the vice-presidency. In the controversy with the Bank of the United States, he sided with Jackson.

No diplomatic questions of the first magnitude arose during Van Buren's service as Secretary of State, but the settlement of long-standing claims against France was prepared for, and trade with the British West Indies colonies was opened. He skillfully avoided entanglement in the Jackson-Calhoun imbroglio. He did not oppose Jackson in the matter of removals from office but was not himself an active "spoilsman," and he protested strongly against the appointment of Samuel Swartwout (1783-1856), who was later a defaulter to a large amount as collector of the port of New York. Eaton (Peggy Eaton), wife of the Secretary of War, with whom the wives of the cabinet officers had refused to associate.

John H. As Secretary of State, Van Buren took care to keep on good terms with the "kitchen cabinet," the group of politicians who acted as Jackson's advisers, and won the lasting regard of Jackson by his courtesies to Mrs. On March 5, he was appointed by President Jackson as secretary of state, an office which probably had been assured to him before the election, and he resigned the governorship. In 1828, Van Buren was elected governor of New York for the term beginning on January 1, 1829, and resigned his seat in the Senate.

He was now one of the recognized managers of the Jackson campaign, and a tour of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia in the spring of 1827 won support for Jackson from Crawford. In February 1827, he was re-elected to the Senate by a large majority. Van Buren was not an orator, but his more important speeches show careful preparation and his opinions carried weight; the oft-repeated charge that he refrained from declaring himself on crucial questions is hardly borne out by an examination of his senatorial career. In the debate on the "tariff of abominations" in 1828, he took no part but voted for the measure in obedience to instructions from the New York legislature — an action which was cited against him as late as the presidential campaign of 1844.

As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he brought forward a number of measures for the improvement of judicial procedure and in May 1826 joined with Benton in presenting a report on executive patronage. At the same time he opposed internal improvements and declined to support the proposal for a Panama Congress. Always notably courteous in his treatment of opponents, he showed no bitterness either towards John Quincy Adams or Henry Clay and voted for Clay's confirmation as Secretary of State, notwithstanding the "corrupt bargain" charge. After the election, Van Buren sought to bring the Crawford and Jackson followers together and strengthened his control as a party leader in the Senate.

He recognized early the potential of Andrew Jackson as a presidential candidate. Crawford and received the electoral vote of Georgia for vice-president, but he shrewdly kept out of the acrimonious controversy which followed the choice of John Quincy Adams as President. In the presidential election of 1824, he appeared as a strong supporter of William H. He voted for the tariff of 1824 then gradually abandoned the protectionist position.

Van Buren at first favored internal improvements and in 1824 proposed a constitutional amendment to authorize such undertakings, but the next year he took ground against them. His course in the Senate was not altogether consistent, though in this respect he is not to be judged more harshly than some of his associates. Before taking his seat he served also as a member of the state constitutional convention, where he opposed the grant of universal suffrage. In February 1821, Van Buren was elected to the United States Senate.

Van Buren did not originate the system, but won the nickname of "Little Magician" for the skill with which he exploited it. He was a leading member of the "Albany Regency," a group of politicians who for more than a generation controlled the politics of New York and powerfully influenced those of the nation, and which did more than any other agency to make the "spoils system" a recognized procedure in national, state and local affairs. It is at this point that Van Buren's connection began with so-called "machine politics". In the same year, he was chosen a presidential elector.

His attitude towards slavery at the moment was shown by his vote, in January 1820, for a resolution opposing the admission of Missouri as a slave state. He broke with De Witt Clinton in 1813, but nevertheless favored, in 1817, Clinton's plan for the Erie Canal. He was chosen to draft the resolution of thanks voted by the legislature to General Andrew Jackson after the Battle of New Orleans. As a member of the state Senate he supported the War of 1812 and drew up a classification act for the enrollment of volunteers.

He had already, in 1808, moved from Kinderhook to Hudson, and in 1816 he took up his residence in Albany, where he continued to reside until he entered Jackson's cabinet in 1829. In 1815 he became the state attorney general, an office which he held, still as a member of the Senate, until 1819, when he was displaced to make room for a Federalist. His career in the New York Senate covered two terms (1812-1820). In 1812 he entered the state Senate, and he also became a member of the Court for the Correction of Errors, the highest court in New York until 1847.

Van Buren, who allied himself early with the Clintonians, was surrogate of Columbia County from 1808 until 1813, when he was removed. Federalist control after 1799 depended upon coalition with one or other of these groups. Livingston and Aaron Burr. The Republicans were divided into three factions: followers of George Clinton (and later of his nephew, De Witt Clinton), Robert R.

New York politics after 1800, the year of the election of Jefferson and the downfall of the Federalists, were particularly bitter and personal. His practice made him financially independent, and paved the way for his entrance into politics. In 1803 he was admitted to the bar and continued in active and successful practice for twenty-five years. Van Buren made the acquaintance of Burr, but did not fall under his influence.

In 1796 he began the study of law, completing his preparation in 1802 in New York, where he studied under William Peter van Ness (1778-1826), an eminent lawyer and later Aaron Burr's second in the duel with Alexander Hamilton. Martin's education was limited to that which could be obtained in the common schools and at Kinderhook Academy. His mother was Maria Hoes (February 27, 1747–February 16, 1817) who also had children from a previous marriage. Martin's father was Abraham van Buren (February 17, 1737–April 8, 1817), a farmer and popular tavern-keeper.

His great-great-great-grandfather Cornelis had come to the New World in 1631 from the Netherlands. Van Buren was born in the village of Kinderhook, New York, twenty miles south of Albany, the state capital. . He was the first President born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the first of non-Anglo descent, and the only President to date whose first language has not been English (it was Dutch).

Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States. presidential election, 1840. U.S. presidential election, 1836.

U.S. presidential election, 1832. U.S. Peter Vivian Daniel - 1842.

John McKinley - 1838. John Catron - 1837.