The forgotten, immigrant teenager who invented Durex condoms

Until now, Polish teenager Lucian Landau’s link to the modern condom has gone unrecognised. But, asks Jessica Borge, if he was so important, how did he become erased from Durex’s history?

By the mid-1960s, Durex was the biggest condom brand in the world (Getty/iStock)

Around 975 Durex condoms are sold every minute. The global condom market is predicted to grow to over $11bn (£8bn) by 2023, and Durex is in the privileged position of being the world’s most popular brand. Yet until recently, the young man who invented Durex’s mass-produced condom had been forgotten – even by the manufacturer itself.

The origins of Durex go back to the London Rubber Company, which began trading in 1915 and specialised in importing modern, disposable condoms for resale in Great Britain. In 1932 the firm underwent a game-changing switch from wholesaling to fabrication, when it started manufacturing in-house under the Durex brand. By the mid-1940s, London Rubber had the biggest production capacity in Britain, and by the mid-1960s, the world.

As a social historian with an interest in businesses, I had been intrigued by London Rubber ever since a friend pointed out the then-derelict factory in Chingford in the late 1990s, after production was moved to Asia. I was fascinated by the idea that thousands of ordinary Londoners made their living from condoms, and set about researching the topic for my PhD. Turning this work into a book gave me the opportunity to deepen my research.