John Wesley Hyatt

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For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation).

John Wesley Hyatt (November 28, 1837 – 1920) was a U.S. inventor. He is mainly known for simplifying the production of celluloid.

Hyatt was born in Starkey, New York, and began working as a printer when he was 16. Later, he became an inventor, receiving several hundreds of patents. While researching a substitute for ivory to produce billiard balls, he experimented with celluloid, a material first created by Alexander Parkes. The result was a commercially viable way of producing celluloid, and Hyatt formed the Celluloid Manufacturing Company (originally the Albany Dental Plate Company) in 1870.