Baekeland, << BAYK land, >> Leo Hendrik (1863-1944), a Belgian-born American chemist, improved methods of developing photographic print paper. By preparing a special form of silver chloride, he produced a superior emulsion that printed faster and allowed the substitution of artificial light for sunlight in developing prints. In 1909, he patented the first completely synthetic resin, Bakelite. He made it by combining phenol and formaldehyde. Baekeland was born on Nov. 14, 1863, in Ghent, Belgium. He graduated from the University of Ghent. He moved to the United States in 1889. He died on Feb. 23, 1944.
