History of Bullet-Proof Glass

By jack_mcarthur

  • Discovery

    Discovery
    Edouard Benedictus, a French chemist, drops a flask filled with nitrate on the ground. While it breaks it does not shatter.

  • Shatter-Proof Glass Patent Created in France

    Benedictus patents his invention in France as "shatter proof glass."

  • Shatter-Proof Glass Patented in USA

    Benedictus obtains the US Patent for his invention.

  • Bullet Resistant Glass Used in WWI

    Bullet Resistant Glass Used in WWI
    Used in gas mask eyeholes and fighter plane windows

  • Bullet Resistant Glass used in Banks

    Was put in place in band teller stations, and voice transmission systems allowed patrons to communicate with the tellers.

  • First Used in Expensive Cars

    First Used in Expensive Cars
    Used in cars, though not widely due to it's price.
  • Period: to

    Used in Security and Safety Applications (Oval Office, Popemobile, etc.)

    Some of these include the Presidental Limousine, the Popemobile, the Oval Office, and the Supreme Court.

  • Polycarbonates Discovered

    Polycarbonates Discovered
    Polycarbonates, a group of clear and easily moldable plastics, were discovered by scientists H. Schnell (in Germany) and D. W. Fox (in the US). As Mr. Fox worked for GE, polycarbonates began to be used in commercial products in the late 1950's.

  • First Patent for Bulletproof Glass

    First Patent for Bulletproof Glass
    Invented by Jacques Sauret and Gerard Grosse, this was the first patent exclusively for bulletproof glass.

  • Patent Granted for Modern Bulletproof Glass

    Filed by William P. Stephinson, this patent is alternating sheets of slightly flexible glass and polycarbonates.