When was the plastic-like compound, later known as "Bakelite," first produced?

Bakelite, a synthetic resin developed in 1907 by the Belgian-born American chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland, was trademarked in 1909. A hard, infusible, and chemically resistant plastic, Bakelite was based on a chemical combination of phenol and formaldehyde (phenol-formaldehyde resin), two compounds that were derived from coal tar and wood alcohol (methanol), respectively, at that time. This made it the first truly synthetic resin. Because of its excellent insulating properties, Bakelite was also the first commercially produced synthetic resin, replacing shellac and hard rubber in parts for the electric power industry.

Bakelite was popular because it could be moulded and then hardened into any shape. Because of its electrical nonconductivity and heat-resistant properties, it became a great commercial success. It was used in electrical insulators, radio and telephone casings, and such diverse products as kitchenware, jewellery and children's toys

However, the synthetic resin that was later trademarked as Bakelite had been produced for the first time 35 years before Baekeland’s work. Adolf von Baeyer (1835 –1917) was a distinguished German chemist who was ennobled in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1885 and was the 1905 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It was he who experimented with phenol and formaldehyde in 1872 and produced the material that later became known as Bakelite, although its use as a commercial product was not considered at the time.