This is the second in a regular series of LinkedIn articles featuring women (past and present) who made significant contributions to science and technology. The name of this series is “Lady Edisons” in honor of Beulah Louise Henry.
Photo From alchetron.com
Josephine Cochrane, a socialite who frequently hosted extravagant parties, set out to find an existing machine that would properly wash her heirloom china while eliminating the risk of damage from handwashing. Her attempts in doing so were unsuccessful, leading her to begin developing her own idea after her husband died leaving her in debt.
Cochrane struggled to get the final product produced complaining that “I couldn’t get men to do things I wanted in my way until they tried and failed in their own. And that was costly for me. They knew I knew nothing, academically, about mechanics, and they insisted on having their own way with my invention until they convinced themselves my way was the better, no matter how I had arrived at it.” She was finally able to find someone to build the product to her specifications.
On December 28, 1886, US Patent No. 355,139 was granted to Josephine Cochrane for a Dish Washing Machine. In 1893 she showed her invention at the Chicago World’s Fair where she won top honors for the “best mechanical construction, durability and adaptation to its line of work.” Josephine Cochrane continued to make improvements on her invention. A second patent was eventually granted for her invention in 1917 (US Patent No. 1,223,380).
Josephine Cochrane founded the Crescent Washing Machine Company to manufacture her invention. The company was acquired by the Hobart Manufacturing Company in 1916, three years after her death. Hobart introduced dishwashers for home use under the KitchenAid brand. In 1986, KitchenAid was acquired by Whirlpool.
Though she found great personal use for her invention, initially, the only interest came from caterers, hotels and larger restaurants. It wasn't until after 1950 that her invention began to gain real popularity for household use. Josephine Cochrane was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.
Check out these articles to learn more about ‘Lady Edison’ Josephine Cochrane:
Female Inventors & Their Inventions that changed the World
“Lady Edisons” is a series prepared by Ann McCrackin featuring women (past and present) whose contributions to science and technology may not be well known. Previous articles in this series are available at LadyEdisons.com or on Twitter @LadyEdisons.
Ann is a patent attorney and an Adjunct Law Professor at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. Ann is passionate about both innovation and education in the legal profession. Ann is a frequent speaker on legal operations and automation. Follow her on LinkedIn or @LegalOpsAI on Twitter for regular posts on legal technology, automation and artificial intelligence.