• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Accomplishments / Who Invented Rubber Tires?

Who Invented Rubber Tires?

June 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

Charles Goodyear invented the process of turning raw rubber into a usable product.

Before Goodyear’s invention, rubber melted, decomposed and became sticky in heat. The process Goodyear invented, called vulcanization, solved these problems and created a major world industry.

Goodyear was the first American to vulcanize rubber, a process which he discovered in 1839.

Unfortunately, Goodyear’s experiments were very expensive, and in order to complete them he had to borrow a lot of money. It was ten years from the time he started on his project until he obtained his patents in 1844.

In spite of the success of his work and the enthusiasm with which it was greeted, because of the money he had to borrow, he had to spend the rest of his life in poverty.

Many people think Goodyear invented the automobile tire and owned the Goodyear Tire Company. Actually, he had nothing to do with either the tire or the company.

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded in 1898 and named after Goodyear by Frank Seiberling.

Related Facts

  • Why do tires have grooves in the tread and How do car tires grip a wet road?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • When the Treads On Tires Wear Out, Where Does All the Rubber Go?
  • Can the rubber tires of my bicycle offer the same protection from lightning as a car’s rubber tires?
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented
  • 15 Inventions You Wish You Invented

Filed Under: Accomplishments

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Who Invented Air Conditioning And When?
Next Post: Who Invented Root Beer? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy