John Wesley Hyatt patents celluloid

Background. In the 1860s, John Wesley Hyatt acquired Alexander Parkes's patent and began experimenting with cellulose nitrate to manufacture billiard balls, which were previously made from ivory. Hyatt initially used cloth, ivory dust, and shellac, and patented a method for covering billiard balls with collodion in April 1869. This work laid the foundation for his later breakthrough in producing stable nitrocellulose.

Patent Development. Hyatt's eventual result was a commercially viable way of producing solid, stable nitrocellulose. He patented this process in the United States in 1869 as "Celluloid" (US patent 50359). This patent is now considered a genericized trademark. The process involved mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents, creating a class of materials known as celluloids.

Legacy and Disputes. Hyatt is known for simplifying the production of celluloid. His discovery led to a patent dispute with English inventor Daniel Spill, who had patented a similar compound as "Xylonite" in the UK. Ultimately, courts judged that neither party held an exclusive claim, recognizing Alexander Parkes as the true inventor due to his earlier mention of camphor.