Josephine Cochrane

Josephine Garis Cochrane (Shelbyville, 8 marzo 1839 - Chicago, 3 agosto 1913) amava i cocktail e le cene sociali, ma non tollerava più che la servitù lavasse le sue preziose stoviglie così grossolanamente e in modo maldestro.

Nacque così la prima lavastoviglie manuale che Garis brevetta nel 1886.

Dopo circa sette anni di prove e miglioramenti, la macchina viene esposta al World’s Columbian Exposition di Chicago ottenendo un successo tale da indurre l'inventrice ad aprire una sua fabbrica, poi acquisita dalla Whirlpool Corporation.

Testo di Tiziana Ghiggia

Illustration by Michela Chiarelli

Josephine Garis Cochrane (Shelbyville, 8 March 1839 - Chicago, 3 August 1913) loved cocktails and social dinners, but she no longer tolerated the servants washing her precious crockery so crudely and clumsily.

Thus was born the first manual dishwasher which Cochrane patented in 1886.

After about seven years of tests and improvements, the machine was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the success was such that it induced the inventor to open her own factory, which was then acquired by Whirlpool Corporation.

Translated by Tanya Gervasi