Born Birmingham. Initially worked on improved methods of electroplating. 1856 patented Parkesine, a celluloid recognised as the first man-made plastic (chewing gum, shellac and natural rubber are all classified as plastics).
1866 he set up The Parkesine Company at Hackney Wick intending to manufacture Parkesine cheaply in bulk but this was not successful and closed in 1868. Died London.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Alexander Parkes
First plastic in the world, known as 'parkesine', invented by Alexander Parke...
Scientist and engineer. Designed marine turbines. Born 13 Connaught Place, Hyde Park into an aristocratic family. Died on board the liner The Duchess of Richmond, after taking ill in Jamaica.
Full name: Dr Alphonse Rene Le Mire de Normandy. Born Rouen, France. He completed a medical course but then devoted himself to chemistry. Came to England in the late 1830s/early 1840s, initially li...
Banker, politician and scientific writer. Born at 29 Eaton Place. He went into his father's banking business at the age of 14 and became a partner in 1856. Entered parliament in 1870, and succeeded...
'A tonic for the Nation', The Festival was intended to cheer us all up after WW2, and incidentally to celebrate the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition. The symbol for the Festival was designed ...
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