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Tyler, Amos

From Ohio History Central
Revision as of 17:11, 27 April 2013 by Unknown user (talk)


On July 27, 1869, Amos Tyler received the first patent in the United States for chewing gum. Although chewing gum had existed for thousands of years, Tyler, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, was the first person to patent it in the United States. Tyler's gum consisted of white rosin and olive oil, which he heated and mixed thoroughly. After the mixture cooled, it had a white color. Then, Tyler cut his product into sticks and packaged each strip individually. There is no evidence that Tyler ever sold his gum commercially, although he probably at least had a local market for it in Toledo.