The earliest known evidence of mankind's use of adhesives dates back to 4000 BC. Archeologists excavating burial sites from this time have unearthed clay pots repaired with an early adhesive made from tree sap. There is also evidence in the ruins of Babylonian temples of statues whose ivory eyeballs were glued into place around the same time. Thus, adhesives can be said to have a history of over 6,000 years, a considerably longer development than most other industrial mainstays. The excavation of the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, including King Tut's, has revealed the use of glue in constructing caskets and the first evidence of a glue making recipe - in this case, some instructions for making animal glue - dates back to 2000 BC.

The Greeks and Romans developed the art of veneering wood panels and refined the making of adhesives, expanding the medium to include glues made from egg whites, blood, bones, milk, cheese, vegetables and grains. Tar and beeswax were used by the Romans as caulk in the construction of their seafaring vessels. Turning our attention to the east, Genghis Khan is said to have conquered armies with troops whose bows were laminated with a mysterious adhesive, the ingredients of which have been lost in the sands of time.

The development of adhesives remained pretty much static until the 1500s when master furniture makers began to utilize glues in their craft. Even Antonio Stradivari, the renowned violinmaker, used an unknown adhesive substance to laminate his instruments. Around 1700, glue making became a commercial venture. The first glue factory was opened in Holland to manufacture animal glue from hides and shortly after the first glue patent was issued in Britain for a fish glue. By 1900, the United States was home to a growing number of glue manufacturers.

The Industrial Revolution accelerated the technical advances of glue making, introducing new methods and new ingredients. The first glue to be made from a polymer was created at this time. It was a wood-derived thermoplastic material called cellulose nitrate that was used to replace ivory as a less-expensive medium for billiard balls. In 1910 the era of plastic adhesives was ushered in with the introduction of Bakelite phenolic, a thermoset plastic. Other plastics were developed in the decades that followed and the Second World War sped up the development of adhesives. Interestingly, although adhesives have been in use for over six millennia, the bulk of their development has occurred only within the space of the last century – much of it due to the emergence of the plastics industry. Today, the development of adhesives with new properties continues as engineers probe ways to enhance factors such as flexibility, toughness, setting time, temperature and chemical resistance. It appears the story of adhesives, and the adhesive industry, is far from over.

Source: History of Adhesives
Manco Web Site
http://www.manco.com/studentcenter/historyofadhesives.asp