In 1680 an Englishman named Robert Boyle discovered that phosphorus and sulfur would burst into flame instantly if rubbed together. He was convinced that the flames were caused not by friction but by something inherent in the nature of the phosphorus and sulfur themselves. He was right. He had uncovered the principle that would ultimately lead to the modern match. The safety match was invented in 1844 in Sweden, by Gustaf Eric Pasch, improved on by Johan Edvard Lundström, and prevented unintentional combustion by separating the reactive ingredients between the match head and the striking surface.
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In 1844, Professor Gustaf Erik PascIn 1855, a Swede, Johan Edvard Lundström (1815-1888) produced the first red phosphorus "safety matches", following the discovery of red phosphorus in 1845.h received a patent for invention of the safety match. Pasch replaced poisonous yellow phosphorus with non-poisonous red phosphorus. He also separated the chemical ingredients for the match tip and put the phosphorous on a striking surface on the outside of the box. Matches could be lit only on this striking surface. The safety match was born. This was a significant invention, which made Sweden world famous. Unfortunately, production was complicated and expensive.
In 1868, the Vulcan AB match factory was founded in Tidaholm, Sweden. Today, the Tidaholm factory, owned by Swedish Match, is considered to have the most technologically advanced match production line in the world.
In 1889 book matches were invented by an American named Joshua Pusey, an attorney from Lima (Pennsylvania), after he wondered why they had to be so bulky.
In 1910, the Diamond Match Company patented the first nonpoisonous match in the U.S., which used a safe chemical called sesquisulfide of phophorous. United States President William H. Taft publicly asked Diamond Match to release their patent for the good of mankind.
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