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John Walker was born on the 29th May 1781 at 104 High Street, Stockton, where his father was in business as a grocer and wine and spirit merchant. John was the third of four boys; he also had two sisters.
John was well educated (at grammar school) and when he was 15 he was apprenticed to a Stockton surgeon named Watson Alcock. He went to London to complete his education and, on his return, became Alcock's assistant. He also went to both York and Durham to train alongside wholesale druggists.
In 1819 John opened a chemists and druggists shop at 59 High Street, Stockton. His interests were wide (he was known as 'Stockton's encyclopaedia') and he was particularly keen on chemistry.
In 1826 John wiped a stick covered with chemicals on the hearth at his home (which he shared with his mother and two sisters) and it burst into flame. This accidental discovery led to his idea for a new type of match- one which would ignite when pulled between two sheets of glasspaper. John developed the idea and, on 7th April 1827, the first recorded sale of matches was made. They cost 1 shilling per hundred, with an additional twopence for a tin to store them in. Between April 1827 and 23rd September 1829 23,000 'friction lights' were sold, most of them locally.
Each friction light was made from a thin 3" wooden splint, which were made by elderly people living in the nearby Almshouses. The head of each light was made from antimony sulphide and potassium chlorate mixed with gum arabic and water and each splint was dipped by John Walker himself.
Professor Michael Faraday heard about the friction lights and visited John Walker, encouraging him to take out a patent. However, John refused to do this on the grounds that he was a healer of the sick rather than an inventor. Faraday reported the invention of friction lights in the Royal Institutions Quarterly Journal in 1829.
In 1829 a London match maker, Samuel Jones, either saw or heard about Walker's Friction Lights and began to produce copies, which were sold under the name of 'Lucifers'. John Walker hated the name 'Lucifers' and refused to sell them from his shop; shortly after, in 1830 or 31, he stopped selling matches altogether.
John Walker retired from business in 1858, a well loved and respected man. He died on the 1st May 1859 at 12 The Square, Stockton, and was buried in the graveyard at Norton Parish Church.
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