Women In Innovation for World IP Day: Josephine Cochrane

Josephine Cochrane was born in Ashtabula, Ohio in 1839, and married her husband, William in 1858 when she was just 19. William went on to become a democratic politician, and 12 years later the couple purchased a mansion in Shelbyville, Illinois. Their home was a perfect space to entertain, and the couple would often throw dinner parties using expensive china, thought to have been dated from the 1600’s. After one of their dinner parties, some of the precious china plates were accidentally damaged as the servants were washing up and Josephine was furious. She decided to take all dish-washing duties upon herself, which she soon found repetitive and tiresome, and she began to wonder why a machine to wash dishes had still not been created. She was sure housewives all over the country at the time were sharing her disdain for the domestic duty, and that’s when she decided to invent one herself. Without more ado she began to research, quickly coming up with a basic concept for her washing machine. Sadly her husband passed away soon after she began her project, leaving her with many loose ends to pay and only $1,535.59 in the bank. This altered her motivations for her new invention – it was no longer just about protecting her beautiful china plates, her livelihood was now dependent on its being a success. After many trials and errors, Josephine met a mechanic named George Butters, who helped construct and develop the machine, and in December 1886, she received her patent for the ‘Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine’. Although she expected to become a favourite with housewives, she found that her invention was considered unnecessary and too expensive for general domestic use, and found her first successful sales were through hotels, then restaurants, and then on to hospitals and colleges. Eventually it caught on with homemakers, and today you will find dishwashers homes all over the world.

Josephine used her intelligence and creativity to fulfill a need she knew true, like most great inventions, and her product has become a wonderful success. She continued selling her machines until she died, when her company was bought out by the company we know as Whirlpool.