~4,000 B.C. - The Ancient Egyptians develope the first know paper-like substance. Papyrus is a woven mat of reeds, pounded till it is thin and hard. Papyrus is the basis for our word "paper".
A.D. 105 - The first actual paper, as we understand the term, is developed by TS'ai Lun, an official in the Chinese Imperial court. Some combination of mulberry bark, hemp, rags, old fishing nets, silk waste, bamboo and grass are beaten into pulp with a mallet, and mixed with water. The pulp is poured onto a screen made of bamboo and grass, and left in the sun to dry.
A.D. 1411 - The Italians help the Germans convert a flour mill into the first paper factory. This stimulates Johann Gutenberg to try to find something to do with all that paper, and he develops movable type in 1453.
A.D. 1719 - There is a savage shortage of rags and rag pulp. Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumer observes wasps building nests and suggest that wood pulp might also be usable for paper.
A.D. 1889 - 1900 - Paper goes fully into mass production. Apporoximately 2.5 million tons of paper are produced annually, allowing schools to discard writing slates and start using paper.
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Page developed by Susan Williams
24 September 2000