Charles Goodyear

Most of the time, when we hop into our cars or trucks, we don’t think about our tires — we’ve become so accustomed to them performing well for tens of thousands of miles. It was on June 24, 1844 that Charles Goodyear received a patent for his discovery that if he removed the sulfur from natural rubber and then heated it, it would remain elastic even when cold. More than 40 years later, Scottish veterinarian John Dunlop developed the balloon tire — for a better ride on his bicycle. And in 1910, B.F. Goodrich added carbon to rubber, making tires last longer and also making them black. Each year in the U.S., we export some $3 billion worth of tires and tubes to overseas markets, while importing nearly $9 billion worth.

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