The first patents for polythene were registered in 1936 by Imperial Chemical Industries. A year later the first practical use for the material, as a film, was discovered. In 1953 Karl Ziegler of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and Erhard Holzkamp invented HDPE (High Density Polyethylene).

Who invented Polythene?

Polyethylene was first synthesized by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann, who prepared it by accident in 1898 while investigating diazomethane.

When was polyethylene invented?

History. Low-density polyethylene was first produced in 1933 in England by Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. (ICI) during studies of the effects of extremely high pressures on the polymerization of polyethylene. ICI was granted a patent on its process in 1937 and began commercial production in 1939.