Dishwasher inventor Josephine Cochrane

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

Josephine Cochrane is an American inventor who patented the design of the first commercially successful dishwasher in 1886. Earlier (1850) a dish washing device was introduced by Joel Hughton, but his model was imperfect and not suitable for practical use.

Biography

Josephine Cochrane was born on March 8, 1839 in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Childhood passed in the city of Valparaiso, Indiana. Her father, John Garis, was a Chicago engineer who invented the hydraulic pump for draining swamps. Her mother, Irene Fitch, died early, and the girl was raised by her father.

Interestingly, the great-grandfather of the famous American was also a famous inventor. John Fitch received a US patent for the development of the steamboat in 1791. By the way, many sources indicate erroneous information that this is the first patent for the design of a steamboat in America and even in the world.

When Josephine Cochrane grew up, her father sent her to a private high school in Indiana. Later, the educational institution burned down, and the future inventor moved to live with hersister in Shelbyville, Illinois. She also graduated from high school there.

Family

The biography of Josephine Cochrane changed dramatically on October 13, 1858. On this significant day, the 19-year-old beauty married William Cochran (1831-1883), who at that time was 27 years old. The husband was not from a simple family. He began his career as a merchant, later worked as a clerk for 16 years, was a member of the Masons, was a member of various committees of the Democratic Party.

Fun fact: a respectable gentleman fell ill with "gold rush" when placers of native gold were discovered in California in the 19th century. From 1853 to 1857, William worked in the mines in the hope of getting rich, but, like thousands of "unlucky ones", he returned home with nothing, but with heavy debts. Upon his return to Shelbyville, he opened a convenience store and textile store.

Twisting Fate

The couple had a son, Hallie, who died at the age of two. After this tragic event, Josephine Cochrane and her husband founded the Unitarian Church in Shelbyville.

In 1870 they moved into a big house. By the way, the girl loved to have fun. She often had groups of friends. But at the same time, she terribly did not like family duties familiar to women: washing, cooking, washing dishes. In the future, her laziness will lead to a miraculous invention that has made life easier for thousands of housewives.

In 1883, her husband died when Josie was 44 years old. After William's death, she changed the spelling of her last name to Cochrane.(instead of Cochran).

Big achievement

Josephine Cochrane, having lost her breadwinner, found herself in a most unpleasant situation. William left her alone with large debts. They had to be given away. In addition, there was not enough money to pay for the work of the servants, and after all, a large collection of porcelain needed regular care. As the daughter and great-granddaughter of famous engineers, Josie decided to invent the thing she needed so badly - a mechanical dishwasher.

Things were going well. On paper, she drew a very thoughtful design for that time:

• The dishes were placed in the wire compartment.
• The compartment itself was placed in a special cage.
• She, in turn, descended into the copper bathroom.
• The motor (operated by hand) built up pressure, and jets of hot soapy water doused the dishes.
• At the final stage, plates, cups and other saucers were poured with clean water.

The dishes were left in the device, where they dried out from the residual heat of the machine. It only remained to get the porcelain and put it on the shelves.

Dream come true

It is not enough to draw a device, it must be embodied in a tangible way. There were problems with this. Josephine Cochrane, willy-nilly, needed assistant mechanics. The first few men she tried to hire to build the mechanism considered the lady's design ill-conceived and offered their own solutions. Ambitious Josie such a twistdid not suit events.

Finally, she hired a man named George Butters. He worked as a mechanic for the Illinois Central Railroad and was on the "you" with the technique. The barn in the backyard of the house acted as a workshop. In the end, George, with the active participation of the inventor, built a machine. She passed the test in the master's kitchen with flying colours.

Inspired by success

Josephine Cochrane applied for a patent with the US Patent Office, which she received on December 28, 1886 under the number 355, 139. The previously unsuccessful dishwasher was patented in 1850 by Joel Hughton. It was made of wood, and the process of washing dishes consisted of spraying water with a crankshaft, which had to be manually spun by the hostess or dishwasher.

Josie founded her company and signed a contract with Tait Manufacturing to build the first batch of dishwashers. Butters acted as manager.

In 1893, the inventor showed and demonstrated the device at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it became a hit and won the top prize. Interestingly, the first batch of 9 cars was immediately bought by cafes and restaurants that worked at the exhibition.

Development

Josie didn't stop there. She constantly improved the design. An important step was the development of an automated model. With the help of a motor, water was pumped and the rack withcrockery. This design was patented in 1900. In the next stage of modernization, the oscillatory movements of the rack were replaced by rotational ones, and the used water was pumped from the dishwasher to the sink by the engine.

The main buyers of the novelty were hotels and catering facilities. The device sold well at $150. Household use has been limited by underdeveloped water and sewer networks.

Josephine Cochrane died on August 3, 1913 in Chicago. She was buried in Graceland Cemetery in Shelbyville. The rights to her car were bought by the Hobart company and produced until 1916.