Did You Know the Dishwasher was Invented in 1886?

In Shelbyville, Ohio, Josephine Garis Cochran was the first person to build a working dishwasher. Tired of her chipped china, she began working in her shed putting together a frame to hold dishes, cups, and saucers. These were then placed on a wheel and would circulate using a motor while soapy water squirted up.

On December 28, 1886, she received a patent for her invention, and began to sell to friends, and later to restaurants and hotels until her death in 1913. Her company was purchased 3 years later by the Hobart Company, which formed Kitchen Aid in 1919.

It was in 1949 that dishwashers were first introduced into the residential market by Kitchen Aid using pressurized system. The unit was available in pink and white. And in 1970 the first portable dishwasher along with integrated units were introduced in avocado and harvest wheat. So next time you pull out those clean, undamaged dishes, in your beautifully renovated kitchen you can thank Josephine.