Leo Hendrik Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite, Father of Plastics.. He was then arrested by the New York City Police Department, charged with attempted murder and sent to Rikers Island Prison. Barbara Daly Baekeland, a previous model for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, had married into wealth and high-society when she wed Brooks Baekeland, whose grandfather was chemist Leo Baekeland, the . Given the circles that the Baekelands moved in, the list of interviewees is quite astounding and includes Cecil Beaton, Dominic Dunne, Sam Green, Jasper Johns, William Styron and Andy Warhol. And then came the tragic coda. That is, everything seemed swell until the year she turned 11and everything started to change in the absolute worst way. Indeed, many of the couples friends ardently hoped they would never have children, lest they risk passing their dysfunction onto the poor kids. Even at this juncture, Barbara dismissed the accusation one last, fateful time. Barbara did have one sticking point: Tonys still-burgeoning homosexuality, or possibly his bisexuality. Tony Baekelands violent death has not been verified as either suicide or murder and is still a mystery. Many companies stopped using Bakelite in the early 1940s as the need for World War II related products took hold. In a somewhat sinister act of unintentional irony, his shocking and sad end had been brought about by the very synthetic material that had made his family rich decades before. Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane) inherited the fortune his grandfather amassed with Bakelite plastics. One of their first moves was to throw a lavish dinner party for their friends. A combination of misguided trust by his grandmother Nini and a lack of responsibility by authorities on both sides of the Atlantic saw the disturbed, schizophrenic Tony now living with the elderly woman in New Yorks Upper East Side. Nini refused him permission enraging her disturbed grandson. Brooks Baekeland was a Royal Air Force Canadian pilot in training and the two soon hit things off. When Tony is still a boy . It must have been the worst outcome that Barbara could have predicted, and she was at sea for many long months following the split. As a young woman, Barbara becomes a rather prominent socialite, she was named as one of New Yorks 10 most beautiful girls. He had known Barbara Baekeland, the victim, and her son, Tony, who was convicted of stabbing his mother to death in their Cadogan Square flat in London and who later committed suicide. Brooks Baekeland ( div. ) By 1967 the family resided in Switzerland and it is at this time that the twenty-year-old Tony embarked on an intimate relationship with a bisexual Australian man while visiting Morocco which infuriated Barbara and saw her travelling by car to Spain in order to bring her son home. Barbara wasnt even a teenager yet, and she was already facing enormous trauma. Please contact your hosting provider to confirm your origin IP and then make sure the correct IP is listed for your A record in your Cloudflare DNS Settings page. Barbara, as vain and insecure as she always had been, was devastated that a woman so much younger than her had caught her husbands eye. Within minutes the out of control Tony stabbed her eight times. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery. Although Tony was out of the psychiatric hospital, Barbara did at least pay a therapist to visit her son at home. After one intense session with the boy, the doctor gave Barbara some disturbing news. This thought comes to mind looking at this great photo of the Empire Air Day, being celebrated in England in May 1938. But her beauty hid a history of mental health problems that were to plague her entire life and see her employing the services of expensive therapists and psychiatrists. Available for both RF and RM licensing. To many, it was a vile end to a sordid story. Everyone knew Barbara loved all that glitteredmoney, status, her own beautiful facebut they quickly found out that she had an ugly side too. He had also inherited his grandfathers expansive mind, starting a PhD in physics before switching to writing. In late July 1972, Tonys rage grew to epic proportions and he suddenly tried to throw Barbara into the busy street outside of their London penthouse. There is not a lot of information about Antony Baekelands childhood and relationship with his parents; it is apparent that there were nannies around all the time. As a heavy drinker, the alcohol would only increase Barbara Baekelands erratic behavior. He had suffocated himself with a plastic bag around his head. Together they made a dazzling couple: socially prominent, jetsetting and glamorous. He was released soon after. To her, Tonys macabre taste in art, erratic behavior, and cruel sense of humor were just signs of his genius, and she adored him all the more for his, uh, quirks. Hoping to make Brooks realise that she was still attractive to other men . Murdered at her London home, her son Anthony stabbed her with a kitchen knife, killing her almost instantly. After a tumultuous relationship, Barbara falsely told Brooks that she was pregnant at which point, they very hastily got married. His first move was bone-chilling. From the outside, Barbaras life now had all the trappings she could have ever wanted. Even more than most scientists, the man is publicity-shy. After experiencing yet another rejection, Barbara went off the deep end. It is also possible to buy Savage Grace on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video as download or rent it on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video online. Barbara Daly Baekeland was only 52 when she was stabbed to death in her luxurious Chelsea apartment in London on November 17th 1972. One ferocious stab with a domestic knife ended what had been a turbulent and at times combative mother-son relationship. However things were not as perfect as they seemed; Barbara drank heavily and was prone to depression, and her husband was cold and distant. But it wasnt long after the power couples marriage in California and their eventual move to a luxurious apartment in New Yorks Upper East Side that the relationship started to show cracks and run into trouble. Unfortunately for Barbara, the screen test did not spawn a film appearance but did land her a beau. Barbara Baekeland was born in 1922, Boston, Massachusetts and considered one of New Yorks ten most beautiful girls. Brooks Baekeland, still desperately unhappy in his marriage to Barbara, began an affair himself with Sylvie. Barbara Baekeland would get frustrated with Antony for not excelling in everything she had him do. Nini Daly, Antonys eighty-seven-year-old grandma, thought Antony behaved very strangely when he arrived at her Bronx apartment in 1980. Barbara and Brooks, a trainee pilot, met when Barbara did a screen test in Hollywood. The movie tells the true story of the marriage of Barbara Daly (Julianne Moore) and Brooks Baekeland (Stephen Dillane), who glittered erratically in the social circles of the 1940s through the 1960s. His friends had urged for his release and the doctor had decided he was doing well so he ended up somehow being released. Before their marriage, Brooks was unaware of Barbaras struggle with mental illness and emotional issues. This is the savage, tragic story of Barbara Baekeland. The thing is, Barbaras tale isnt quite over. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Terms and Conditions. Thanks for your help! Uh, about that. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Brooks Baekeland was a handsome intellectually gifted man who abandoned a promising career in physics in order to write a novel which never materialised. Tony Baekeland was either gay or bisexual. He thought his first son was still a threat, especially to him. Please contact your hosting provider to confirm your origin IP and then make sure the correct IP is listed for your A record in your Cloudflare DNS Settings page. The most valuable Bakelite pieces are wide pieces with heavy, deep, and sometimes intricate carving, reverse carving and painting, or with complicated lamination. By 1972, Barbara and Tony still hadnt managed to extricate themselves from each other, and were living together in London, England. At some point, Tony's father, Brooks, began having an affair with Sylvie instead. Did this stop him from striking up yet another affair? He ultimately stabbed her 8 times, breaking several bones in the process, although Nina Daly did survive. Inexpensive celluloid made material wealth more widespread and obtainable. He is Leo Hendrik Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite, Father of Plastics. Born in Ghent in Flemish Belgium 76 years ago, young Leo became an ardent photographer. In the warm light of his lusty affair, Brooks realized how desperately unhappy he was in his marriage and asked Barbara outright for a divorce. Leo Baekeland, in full Leo Hendrik Baekeland, (born November 14, 1863, Ghent, Belgiumdied February 23, 1944, Beacon, New York, U.S.), U.S. industrial chemist who helped found the modern plastics industry through his invention of Bakelite, the first thermosetting plastic (a plastic that does not soften when heated). His concerns were to be proven correct. While in Europe, they rented homes and villas in London, Paris, Switzerland, and Italy. Reportedly Tony was on the phone ordering Chinese takeaway when the police had arrived, and seemed completely unconcerned. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. He took a kitchen knife, charged toward his mother, and stabbed her directly in the heart. However, Leo's grandson Brooks managed to dash the family's unilateral image of success. Barbara Daly Baekeland, 51, would die at the hands of her own son in a killing that shook both the high society in Britain and in America. At the Old Bailey Tony was defended by the legendary John Mortimer (author of Rumpole of the Bailey books) who attempted to get Tony extradited back to the US for treatment. Nina loved her grandson and believed she could help him to lead a happy life. But Antony did come out as a homosexual much to the dismay of his parents. While some mothers go the horrific route of conversion therapy to fix their gay sons, Barbara had her own twisted methods. Just before Barbaras death she had been dining with a friend in London and enthusing about her extravagant, fun-filled life that she shared with her much-adored son, Anthony. In the short term, this was everything Barbara wanted. At these parties, Barbara often met wealthy men who didnt mind taking her out for dinner and a date. Brooks Baekeland was the type of man Barbara found attractive. The two would live together on what would be a fresh start for Antony. Instead, Green believes Barbara bluffed about the taboo tryst in order to gain attention. Antony fell deeply in love with Jake during his time in Spain, and Jake, a poor hippie, enjoyed the lavish gifts Antony would buy for him. Barbara Daly Baekeland was a gorgeous American model and socialite who was murdered ruthlessly by her own son. According to one report, she lied and told Brooks that she was pregnant in order to push him into a quickie wedding. The same luck didnt hold for Tony, though. //-->