He patented this material in 1856 and exhibited it at the Great International Exhibition in London in 1862, where it was later marketed as Xylonite. The material was an early form of plastic and laid the foundation for the modern plastics industry.
Parkesin was made from cellulose, a naturally occurring material found in plants, and was the first plastic to be produced by a chemical process. Parkes' invention paved the way for the development of other synthetic plastics such as Bakelite and PVC, and he is widely regarded as the father of the plastics industry.
Alexander Parkes had a lifelong interest in science and technology and held several other patents, including a process for electroplating and a method for producing artificial silk. He was a visionary and a pioneer in the field of materials science, and his contributions to the development of plastics have had a lasting impact on modern society.
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