I’m a big history buff and always like to know where things, like drywall in this case, began. Drywall (also called plasterboard or gypsum board) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum) extruded between thick sheets of facer and backer paper. Even though drywall can be traced back to the late 19th century it didn’t become prevalent until the middle of the 20th century when it became a time and labor saving alternative to lath and plaster.
Sources differ on the exact beginnings of drywall, but most acknowledge the first plasterboard was invented in 1894 by Augustine Sackett and Fred Kane, graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was made by layering plaster within four plies of wool felt paper. Gypsum was introduced to the process between 1910 and 1930 and in North America the first real commercial efforts behind what we now know as drywall were led by the United States Gypsum Corporation.
Today the global drywall market is estimated to be worth more than US$25 billion annually and, on the back of continuing growth in worldwide residential and commercial construction, is projected to grow at an annual rate of 8% for the foreseeable future. There are a number of companies in the gypsum and drywall business, but the major players include USG Corporation, Georgia-Pacific LLC, American Gypsum Company and the China National Building Materials Company.
For anyone interested in taking a deeper dive into the history of drywall this is an excellent article. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/07/an-exciting-history-of-drywall/493502/