Charles Perkins Strite (February 27, 1878 – October 18, 1956) was an American inventor known for inventing the pop-up toaster. He received U.S. patent #1,394,450 on October 18, 1921, for the pop-up bread
toaster
A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to brown sliced bread into toast, the color caused by the Maillard reaction. It typically consists of one or more slots into which bread is inserted, and heating elements, o ...
.
www.google.com/patents
/ref> Strite then formed the Waters Genter Company and made the pop-up toaster publicly available in 1926.
Life
Charles Strite was born in Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
on February 27, 1879. During World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he worked at a manufacturing plant in Stillwater, Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, where he noticed the cafeteria often served burnt toast. While electric toasters existed at the time, they had to be constantly watched to avoid burning the toast, and could only toast one side of the bread at a time. Strite's toaster, which he started working on in 1919 and patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
ed in 1921, solved both of these drawbacks. It contained heating elements on both sides of the toast, and a spring to make the toast "pop-up" when it was done.
Strite soon formed the Waters Genter company and started selling his toaster, known as the "Toastmaster", to restaurants. In 1926, the company began selling a consumer version. This redesigned toaster featured a lever to adjust the darkness of the toast. By 1930, more than one million toasters were sold annually, and by the 1960s the toaster had become a standard appliance in the American kitchen.
Strite's company, which became Toastmaster, Inc., made six different consumer designs and experienced lasting success. The company still produces a range of kitchen appliances.
See also
* Alan MacMasters hoax
References
External links
USPTO notes on Charles Strite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strite, Charles
20th-century American inventors
1878 births
1956 deaths
Inventors from Iowa
Inventors from Ohio