Zeglen's silk bulletproof vest
Chaleco antibalas de seda de Zeglen
- Date
- c. 1897 · confidence medium
- Place
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Credited to
- Casimir Zeglen (with contributions from Jan Szczepanik)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A vest of layers of dense woven silk that stopped low-velocity pistol bullets. It was the first manufactured textile bulletproof vest and was sold to police and public figures.
Zeglen, a Polish priest in Chicago, and the inventor Jan Szczepanik (Austria-Hungary) developed silk vests almost simultaneously in the 1890s; who was first is disputed. The date is approximate.
What it led to
- light, concealed personal protection for police and statesmen
- ballistic nylon vests in the Second World War
- modern aramid and polyethylene vests