Who invented the matches and when?

The friction match was invented by John Walker, an English pharmacist, in 1827. Walker’s matches were the first practical type of match and were made by coating the tip of a wooden stick with a mixture of chemicals that would ignite when struck against a rough surface. Walker’s matches were a significant improvement over earlier designs and became widely used. The safety match, which could only be ignited by striking it against a specially prepared surface, was invented in 1844 by Samuel Jones, making matches safer for everyday use.