The United States chemical industries: A historical and contemporary analysis

The chemical industries have made major contributions to the production of glass, soap, dyes, ink, paint, clothes, film and explosives in the nineteenth century and to drugs, pesticides, plastics, automobiles, electronic equipment, composite materials, food and fragrances in the twentieth century. The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century and the wars of the twentieth century were the main instigators of the arrival of commercially-produced chemicals and new innovations.