Back to Blog Apr 21 2022

The History of the Hard Hat

Hard hats, we all wear them on site but how long have these life savers been around? The first project to make them mandatory was the Hoover Dam in 1931, with the Golden Gate Bridge not far behind in 1933. Edward W. Bullard, the son of a mining company owner, came home from World War 1 and saw the usefulness of a good helmet and thought why not use something similar in the mines. His initial design from 1919 was layers of cloth and leather steamed together, hence the name “Hard Boiled Hat”. The inside of his original hard hats looks almost the same as hard hats today with the padding and suspension. His later design of aluminum may have been stronger and lighter but seeing as it’s a great conductor that model didn’t last long in the trades. Fiberglass was a great upgrade in the 1940’s and by the 50’s molded plastic had started to take over the world and hard hats.

To read more check out the links below:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/history-hard-hat-180974238/

http://www.historyofhats.net/hat-history/history-of-hard-hats/