Who invented the hard hat?
Edward W. Bullard, introduced the original “Hard-Boiled hat” in 1919. While working for the E.D. Bullard Co., established in San Francisco in 1898, the son of the founder began working on a helmet that could protect miners. Among the many hazards in the mines were injuries to the head. Bullard’s experience with the doughboy helmet as a soldier during World War I inspired young Bullard to make a hard hat similar in shape to the helmet. The original hard hat was manufactured out of steamed layers of glued canvas painted black. A suspension device was built into the hard hat for comfort and protection. According to the Bullard company, now based in Cynthiana, Ky., the patented “Hard-Boiled Hat” was the first industrial head protection sold commercially in the world.
