One of the first matches were used in 5th century in China, called the sulfur match, they were small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur. After that came the Safety match, that was invented by the Swedish chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch in first half of 1800’s and popularized by the industrialist John Edvard Lundström in second part of 19th century.
In video below, The Science Channel’s “How It’s Made” takes us on a journey to Thailand to explain to us the making of matches.