Thomas
Hancock
developed
Vulcanite
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Thomas
Hancock was born in 1786. He began experimenting
with natural rubber in 1819, and in the following
year rented a factory in Goswell Road, London
working raw rubber with machinery of his own
invention - machines which may be regarded as the
prototype of the rubber mill and mixer. In 1826
he made a working agreement with Charles
Mackintosh and Company for the manufacture of
waterproof garments in Manchester. In 1843
Hancock took out a patent for the vulcanisation
of rubber using suplhur, one month ahead of Goodyear in the USA.
However, in his personal narrative of 1856,
Hancock does not credit himself with discovering
the reaction of sulphur with rubber. He tells
that, in 1842 a friend, William Brockendon showed
him some American samples of rubber which had
been treated with sulphur to improve its
properties. He also mentions that this friend
invented the word vulcanisation from Vulcan of
mythology, representing the use of sulphur and
heat. Hancock's major contribution was that he
developed the necessary machinery for processing
rubber. Goodyear who discovered sulphur
vulcanisation had little interest in machine
development, being more concerned with the uses
of rubber. Hard rubber, also called vulcanite or
ebonite may be regarded as the first semi-synthetic
plastics material. It was popular for dental
plates, Vesta match cases, pens and imitation jet
or mourning jewellery - mainly in the latter half
of the 19th and early 20th centuries although it
was in use until the 1940s.
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