Rubber Stamp
How Charles Goodyear became the first name in rubber.
Written by Filed under History
Exactly one year after Clarissa’s death Goodyear re-married, wedding a 20-year-old named Fanny Wardell. By this time, Goodyear had escaped the shadow of poverty, but wasn’t exactly living in the lap of luxury. “He died about $200,000 in debt, at least according to the calculations of his son,” says Slack. “No matter how much he earned he always spent more than he made and owed a lot of people money.”
Rubber Meets The Road
Thirty-eight years after Goodyear’s death, the Seiberling brothers founded the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. “Everyone assumes a connection but there really was no formal association, and no member of the Goodyear family ever held a high position or got rich off the company,” informs Slack.
However, the decision to name the company after Charles Goodyear has generally worked to the favor of both parties. “The Goodyear company gets this assumed association with the inventor and with the birth of the industry,” offers Slack. “On the other side, Goodyear—who labored in obscurity for so long—now has his name on millions of tires and on the blimp.”
How would Goodyear feel if he knew about Goodyear tires and the blimp? One can only speculate, but Slack says, “I think he would be absolutely thrilled. He would have been very pleased to see the blimp and gratified to see the extent to which rubber has become indispensable in basically everything that defines modern life. He always believed his life was well spent because he succeeded in giving this great gift to the world.”
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