On this date in 1837, bankrupt hardware merchant Charles Goodyear received Patent No. 3,633 for rubber. His discovery was made when he accidentally mixed some rubber with sulfur on a hot stove. This discovery, vulcanization rubber, was named after the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

Before Goodyear’s mistake, natural or India rubber melted in hot weather, froze in cold, and stuck like glue to everything.

Goodyear made little money on this revolutionary invention. He struggled with patent pirates and legal battles. But he wrote about his experience:

“Life should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and cents. I am not disposed to complain that I have planted and others have gathered the fruits. A man has cause for regret only when he sows and no one reaps.”