Earle Haas,

D.O. Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become lice ...

(1888–1981) was an

osteopathic physician Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become lice ...

and inventor of the

tampon A tampon is a menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation. Unlike a pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Once inserted correctly, a tampon is held ...

with an applicator, marketed as "Tampax". He graduated from the Kansas City College of Osteopathy in 1918 and spent 10 years in

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as a country

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

, then went to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

in 1928.

Inventions

He invented a flexible ring for a

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

diaphragm (and made $50,000 from selling the patent), sold real estate and was president of a company that manufactured

antiseptics An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abili ...

. Haas wanted to invent something better than the "rags" his wife and other women had to wear, he said, and got the idea for his

from a friend in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

who used a sponge in the vagina to absorb menstrual flow. So he developed a plug of cotton inserted by means of two cardboard tubes; he did not want the woman to have to touch the cotton. He applied for a patent for the "Catamenal device" on November 19, 1931, and was granted U.S. Patent No. 1,926,900 on September 12, 1933. After failing to get people interested in his invention (including the

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

company), on October 16, 1933, he finally sold the

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 ...

and

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

to a Denver businesswoman, Gertrude Tendrich, for $32,000. She started the

Tampax Tampax (a portmanteau of tampon and packs) is a brand of tampons currently owned by Procter & Gamble. It was based in White Plains, New York, US until its sale to Procter & Gamble in 1997. It is a subsidiary of P&G's Always brand and is sold ...

company and was its first president. Tendrich was an ambitious

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant who made the first Tampax tampons at her home using a sewing machine and Haas's compression machine. Tampons based on Haas' design were first sold in the U.S. in 1936. The London ''

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'' newspaper in 1969 named Haas one of the "1000 Makers of the Twentieth Century." After selling the rights to the tampon, he continued with his doctor's practice and various business enterprises. He later regretted selling the rights, but was glad it was successful, and died at 93 in 1981. Up to his death he continued to try to improve the tampon.

References

External links

''Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions''
by David John Cole, Eve Browning and Fred E. H. Schroeder (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003) p191 {{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Earle American osteopathic physicians Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences alumni 1888 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American inventors