Hyatt, John

Hyatt, John (Wesley) (1837–1920) inventor; born in Starkey, N.Y. An energetic apprentice printer, he embarked on a long career as an inventor with a knife sharpener in 1861. He later developed a water filter, a multiple-needle sewing machine, and the Hyatt roller bearing, which he began producing in his own factory in 1892. His best-known discovery, made in the search of a substitute for the ivory used in billiard balls, was the plastic celluloid, which he created in 1869–70 by mixing pyroxylin, camphor, and alcohol.