Charles R. Burroughs
Burroughs Corporation
Inducted 1974
Charles Burroughs (1873 – 1944), with help from J.H. Stevens, devised many clever ways to use celluloid to recreate the look and feel of luxury goods made from ever-increasingly rare materials such as ivory, ebony, and mother-of-pearl. By layering thin sheets of colored celluloid (plasticized nitrated cellulose) and compressing them under high heat and pressures, Burroughs could simulate the look and texture of these materials, making them indistinguishable from the original to the untrained eye.
He founded the Burroughs Corporation and developed the early equipment needed to mold and fabricate the first two commercially significant plastics, Celluloid and Bakelite. Many of the early plastic developments would not have been commercially viable without Burrough’s inventions of the necessary plastics production machinery.
Areas of Expertise:
Plastics processing, Plastics machinery, Business management