How was the match discovered or invented?

The friction match that we use today was invented by John Walker in 1826. John Walker had a keen interest in making easy to access fire for piratical use. In one of his experiments he accidentally struck a piece of wood that was dipped in a mixture he was experimenting with at the time. He realized the significance of this and refined it into a design very similar to what we use today. John Walker sold his matched in small boxes that came with little sheets of sand paper to ignite the match.