Josephine Cochrane
In a men dominated by men, inventor Josephine Cochrane created in the late nineteenth century one of the most commonly used appliances in the world.
In 1893, the World Fair in Chicago was a lot of innovative inventions, but a device stood out in the machine pavilion- Dishwasher Line-line.
Invented by Josephine Garis Cochrane, it was the only machine in the huge exhibition designed by a woman. Capable of wash more than 200 dishes In just two minutes, the dishwasher was not just an exhibition piece, but an integral part of the fair, cleaning thousands of dishes daily in its many restaurants.
The machine received a prize for its mechanical construction and durability, marking a turning point in the history of cooking devices. But after all, what is the History of your inventor?
Born in 1839 at Ohio, Cochrane came from a inventor lineage – Your great -grandfather held a patent of a steam boat and her father was a civil engineer. Married William Cochran, a businessman in 1858, adopting a more European spelling of his nickname, “Cochrane”, to reflect his sophisticated status.
After settling in Shelbyville, Illinois’s American state, the couple lived comfortably, often receiving guests with the precious 17th century porcelain of Josephine. But her frustration with the broken dish, whether washed by the servants or herself, led her to get an idea: a machine to automate dishwasher. “If no one else will invent a dishwasher, I myself will do so”He will have said.
A woman in a world of men
His life suffered a turnaround when William died in 1883, leaving debts and Only $ 1500. Determined to sustain himself, Cochrane strived to develop her dishwasher, hiring the mechanic George Butters to help build a prototype. In 1886, it received the American patent 355.139 for its “dishwasher”, which used water pressure instead of manual washing – one concept still used today in the dishwasher.
Despite its intention to relieve women’s housework, the machine was too expensive for families. Instead, the machine was directed to hotels and restaurants, making its first sale in 1887 to the Palmer House Hotel de Chicago, explains the.
Selling male hoteliers was scary, but Cochrane advanced. “The atrium seemed to have a mile wide. I thought I was going to faint With each step, but I didn’t faint – and I received an order of $ 800 as a reward, ”he recalled later.
His success arrived with the 1893 Chicago World Fair, where his dishwasher gained enormous attention. Orders of hotels, restaurants and even hospitals emerged. In 1898, he opened his own factory, renamed Crescent Washing Machine Company, and promoted butters to foreman.
Cochrane passed away in 1913, but the success of his company continued. In 1926, Hobart Manufacturing Company acquired it, launching dishwasher with the Kitchenaid brand. Whirlpool Corporation later took control in 1986, ensuring that Cochrane’s invention became a product known to all over the world.
Looking back on his way, Cochrane once said: “If I knew everything I know today when I started, I would never have had the courage to start. But in this case, it would have lost a wonderful experience. ”
