In which year was the first successful friction match invented?

The first successful friction match (picture) was invented in 1826 by John Walker (1781-1859), an English chemist and druggist from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. His invention resulted from a keen interest in trying to find a means of obtaining fire easily.

While Walker was preparing a lighting mixture on one occasion, a match which had been dipped in the mixture, ignited by accidental friction upon the hearth. He immediately appreciated the practical value of his discovery and started making friction matches. His invention consisted of wooden splints or sticks of cardboard coated with sulphur and tipped with a mixture of sulphide of antimony, chlorate of potash, and gum, the sulphur serving to communicate the flame to the wood.

Prior to his invention, the first, self-igniting march was invented in 1805 by Jean Chancel, assistant to professor Louis Jacques Thenard of Paris. The head of the match consisted of a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulfur, sugar and rubber. The match was ignited by dipping its tip in a small asbestos bottle filled with sulfuric acid.

Prior to the use of matches, fires were sometimes lit using a burning glass (lens) to focus the sun on tinder, a method that would only work on sunny days.

Typically, a match is made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface.