Frederick Walton 1855
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| Born | 13 March 1834 |
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| Died | 16 May 1928 | Age 94 |
Linoleum, also called Lino, is a versatile hard wearing floor covering. Despite many new types of flooring on the market, lino is still popular today.
Inspiration
Walton was born in Halifax Yorkshire. In 1855, Walton noticed a rubbery, flexible skin of solidified linseed oil had formed on a can of oil-based paint. He was impressed at how strong this skin was and wondered if might be useful.Linoleum is Born
Walton accelerated the oxidation process by heating it with lead acetate and zinc sulphate. When he mastered his recipe he took out a patent eventually calling it Linoleum,
derived from the Latin words “linum” (“flax”) and “oleum” (“oil”).
Production
In 1864, he formed the Linoleum Manufacturing Company and by 1869 the factory in Staines was exporting to Europe and the United States. Frederick Walton jnr went on to develop Lincrusta the first washable and durable wall covering.
