J. N. Hyatt

John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920) was an American inventor best known for inventing celluloid, the first commercially successful synthetic plastic, initially as a substitute for ivory in billiard balls.[1][2] He held nearly 238 patents, including improvements to sugar cane mills, water filtration, and roller bearings, and was awarded the Perkin Medal and inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.[1][4]