Goodyear and vulcanization Natural rubber latex is useful in warm climates, but it becomes stiff and brittle in the cold. What’s more, it gets runny and sticky when it gets too warm. That all changed in 1839, when Charles Goodyear (1800–1860) accidentally spilled a mixture of rubber latex, sulfur, and white lead on a hot stovetop. The result was a rubber that was more resistant to temperature extremes. Goodyear named the process vulcanization, and vulcanized rubber became the wonder material of the 1800s. "Rubber tires. So do we." —Unknown