Josephine
Cochrane
Much
is not known about Josephine Cochrane’s early childhood but it is believed that
she grew up with her father called John Garis, and her sister in Ohio and
Indiana. Her sister moved out of the house after the death of their mother. His
father was a hydraulic engineer and a supervisor at the mills (http://forgottennewsmakers.com).
It was through the nature of his father’s work that Mrs. Cochrane came to know
more about mechanical work. She was fortunate enough to attend a private high
school but unfortunately, the school burned down. When this happened Mr. John
Garis sent his daughter to live with her sister in a town called Shelbyville in
Illinois (http://forgottennewsmakers.com).
Later, she got married at the age of nineteen to a twenty-seven year old man
called William Cochran after she had graduated from high school.
Josephine’s
husband was a very successful businessman and with a lot of investment
opportunities. Despite the fact that Mrs. Cochrane was very young and comfortable
with her life, she was “guided by her independent nature and personal
confidence” (http://forgottennewsmakers.com).
Having a busy social life was a norm for this couple due to their wealth. They
lived in a big mansion where they “threw dinner parties using china allegedly
dating from 1600s” (http://forgottennewsmakers.com). Because they entertained a
lot of guests in their house, the Cochrane’s hired servants to clean up after various
events including dish washing.
Unfortunately
after one event, the servants carelessly chipped some dishes while washing the
dishes (http://forgottennewsmakers.com).
After Josephine found out the next day, it made her very angry. As a result, she did not allow any of her
servants to handle her china anymore. It was through this unpleasant
circumstance that made Mrs. Cochrane to have an idea to invent a dishwasher by
herself (http://forgottennewsmakers.com). The reason behind this invention was
so that this machine would clean her dirty dishes.
Later, Mr. William Cochran died in 1883 due to
too much consumption of alcohol. After his death, he left behind a debt of
about $1,535.59. This debt also urged Josephine to invent the dishwasher so she
could settle some of the debt. Her creation was
“wire compartment, cups and saucers, and inside was a wheel that lay
flat inside a copper boiler. A motor turned the wheel pumping hot soapy water
from the bottom of the boiler over dishes (http://forgottennewsmakers.com). I
was really amazed at her creation because usually it was men who were into such
inventions and not necessarily a woman during her time.
To
make long story short, she had some failures at the beginning of her creation
when she showed her designs to some few men. However, she finally succeeded
inventing this machine but “got help with construction from mechanic George
Butters and received her first patent on the Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine
December 28, 1886” (http://forgottennewsmakers.com). Her first customers were hotel companies including
that of Palmer House hotel in Chicago. This is because most housewives at that
time did not have money to buy the machine, and some thought it was useless
because they had hands to wash their own dishes. She had many successes and sales along the
way but after she died in 1913, Josephine Cochrane’s company was bought out by
Hobart and later became known as Kitchen Aid (http://forgottennewsmakers.com). As of today, this same company is known as
Whirlpool Corporation and overall, Mrs. Cochrane is considered the founder.
Lastly,
I like Josephine as a person because she was an independent woman who had a lot
of confidence in herself. If not for this great quality and personality she
possessed, I do not think we would have a dishwasher today. I also like her because
she was willing to let other company use her invention to reach other customers
in schools hospitals, and many more. I do like the fact that she was not
selfish by selling this machine to housewives only but to the general
population at large. Finally, I like the fact that she invented this machine
because her example can motivate other women to do the same in other areas of
mechanical work, without the notion that such invention is only made possible
when men do it.
Resources
Josephine Cochrane (1839-1913) Invented
the Dishwasher: Forgotten NewsMakers.
