Whiteboard
Albert Stallion invented whiteboards while working at Alliance in the 1960s. Alliance (now known as PolyVision) produced enameled steel for architectural cladding, but Stallion noted it could also potentially be used as a writing surface. Stallion later left Alliance to form his own whiteboard production company, MagiBoards.
Blackboard
Manufacturing of slate blackboards began by the 1840s. Green chalkboards, generally made of porcelain enamel on a steel base, first appeared in the 1960s.