Macintosh

   , MACKINTOSH

   Charles Macintosh — or Mackintosh, as it is sometimes spelled—(1766— 1843) was an enterprising Scottish chemist who patented a process in 1823 that created a waterproof fabric. A method of cementing two or more layers of cloth together through the solvent action of naphtha on India rubber led to the production not only of a waterproof jacket but also to life preservers, fishing boots and hot-water bottles, among other things.

   The Duke of Wellington reportedly was much impressed by this invention, and decided to test it for practical use in the army. He had forty of his soldiers set out on a raft supported by two pontoons of the cloth. The soldiers remained dry, the raft kept floating, Wellington was won over, and the macintosh was given a tremendous boost. Captain William Perry, on an Arctic exploration, used waterproof covers for all his supplies. He later wrote: "Just before halting at 6 A.M. on the 5th of July 1827, the ice at the margin of the flow broke while the men were handling provisions out of the boats; and we narrowly escaped the loss of a bag of cocoa, which fell overboard, but fortunately . . . this bag, made out of Macintosh's waterproof canvas, did not suffer the slightest injury."

   The inventor of the waterproof fabric was not Charles Macintosh, however, but James Syme. He invented the process in 1823 while a student at Edinburgh University. Macintosh, without seeking permission from Syme, obtained a patent on the process and manufactured numerous articles using it.