Who invented the bulletproof vest?

Answer 1

First Body Armor in the USA

The records of early patented versions of body armor in the US show up in the early 1900's. They were designed and created by engineers. By the early 1930's, the very first form of a bulletproof vest was documented. All be it, a very expensive and cumbersome prototype, that was not very good at protecting against a fast speeding bullet.

The design and efficiency quickly progressed. Engineers began experimenting with woven silk thread to reinforce and strengthen the protective layers. These new designs, once again, proved to be slightly ineffective towards the new advancements in weaponry.

Flak jackets were produced by World War II and widely used by the military. These new jackets proved effective against small arms fire, but proved useless against the threat of high velocity pistol or rifle.

Modern Body Armor came about in the 1960's. It consisted of jackets made of a new light weight fiber weaves that truly made the jackets bullet resistant. With this new weave, designers were able to finally create a jacket that was light-weight and concealable at the same time. Research continued through the 70's when Duponts breakthrough with weaving kevlar into the fabric. This new type of bulletproof vest offered the wearer an efficient, light-weight, and bullet resistant body armor that could be used in Law Enforcement and Military.

Since then, research and development continues to test new materials and fibers to further the strength of the jackets and reduce the damage caused by high velocity arms and blunt trauma from knives.

Answer 2

Casimir Zeglen in some time in the 1700's :P