†In 1713, Rene de Reaumur presented a fibreglass fabric to the Academy of Science in Paris, made by Carlo Riva from Venice. It was not immediately successful, as the next known use of it was in 1840 when it was mixed with silk to drape Napoleon's hearse when he was reburied. American Edward Drummond Libbey made fibreglass popular in 1893 and its use increased throughout the twentieth century.
