Josephine Garis Cochran

Introduced the first practical water - pressure dishwashing machine that became the basis for modern dishwashers.

Josephine Cochran (1839-1913) was an American inventor who created and built the first commercially successful dishwasher.

Josephine Garis was born on March 8, 1839 (some sources list 1841) in Ashtabula County, Ohio, USA. In 1858 she married William Apperson Cochran and later settled in Shelbyville, Illinois. After her husband's death in 1883 left her in debt, Cochran sought a practical solution to a common household problem: fine china used in her house was often chipped during hand washing. Motivated by that, she began designing a mechanical dishwasher - despite having no formal mechanical training - and collaborated with a mechanic, George Butters, to build a prototype. Her design differed from previous attempts: dishes were placed in wire compartments inside a wheel, which sat flat in a copper boiler; a motor rotated the wheel while hot, soapy water was pumped from the bottom - using water pressure rather than scrubbers. On 28 December 1886, she was granted U.S. Patent No. 355,139 for her "dish - washing machine." To bring her invention to life, she founded the company Garis - Cochran Dish - Washing Machine Company, which manufactured and marketed her machines. In 1893 she exhibited her dishwasher at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago - nine of her machines were installed in restaurants and pavilions - and won a prize for "best mechanical construction, durability and adaptation to its line of work." 31 Because early home plumbing and costs limited private use, her dishwashers were mainly purchased by hotels, restaurants and institutions. Over time her company evolved (later renamed Cochran's Crescent Washing Machine Company) and eventually was acquired by the company that became KitchenAid, so her basic design influenced the modern dishwasher. Josephine Cochran continued managing her business and refining her invention until her death on August 3, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. Her invention - the first practical dishwasher - laid the foundation for a household appliance that would eventually become commonplace worldwide; her design principles (wire racks, water pressure washing) persist in modern dishwashers.