Matches Inventors - Biographies and Inventions
Inventors who created matchsticks managed to completely change our view of fire that was before them static, slow to create and inconvenient to use in many occasions and locations. Here you can find out more about those inventors, their life stories and ways they managed to create or revolutionize modern matchstick industry.
John Walker
John Walker was English chemist and druggist that managed to revolutionize modern history of matches by introducing friction-based chemical reaction to the match. Here you can learn all about his life and work, and how his friction matches paved the way for the creation of the modern “safety match” that we all use today.
Charles Sauria
Friction matches received a large surge in popularity when French chemist Charles Sauria managed to fully extract potential of white phosphorus. His design soon became very popular across the world, but after decades of use it was banned because of health and very easy self-inflammation risks. Here you can learn more about the life and work of Charles Sauria.
Gustaf Erik Pasch
Gustaf Erik Pasch was a Swedish chemist who managed to completely change the modern match industry. By moving phosphorus from the top of the match to the special striking surface, he enabled creation of cheap, safe and easy to use matches that were far superior to the models that was in use before.
