Marvin Chester Stone ( – ) was an American inventor. He is best known for inventing the modern drinking straw.

Early life

Stone was born in Portage County, Ohio in 1842. The son of an inventor, Stone made many useful articles in his boyhood. He was a graduate of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, although his course of study was interrupted by his service in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. During the Civil War, Stone served in the 7th Ohio Regiment. He was injured in the Battle of Lookout Mountain, and sent to Washington D.C. on special duty with the Veteran Reserve Corps. After college, Stone began a theological course, but abandoned it to go to Washington, D.C. where he was employed as a newspaper correspondent for several years.

Career

Stone began his career as an inventor by creating a machine to make paper cigarette holders. Stone secured a contract with the W. Duke Sons & Co. and opened a factory in Washington, D.C. to produce cigarette holders for the company's Cameo brand of cigarettes. Later, Stone developed the modern drinking straw. Prior to Stone's invention, people used natural rye grass straws, which imparted an undesirable grassy flavor in beverages. To combat the problem, Stone made the first drinking straw prototypes by spiraling a strip of paper around a pencil and gluing it at the ends. Next he experimented with

paraffin wax Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and melting poi ...

-coated manila paper, so that the straw would not get soggy when used. Stone's straws were 8 ½ inches long and had a diameter just wide enough to prevent things like fruit pips from getting lodged in the tube. Stone received 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 ...

of the "artificial straw" on January 3, 1888. It was made out of paper. By 1890, Stone's factory was producing more drinking straws than cigarette holders. Stone invented a number of other items during his career, including a kind of fountain pen and an

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

Personal life

Stone was married to Jane "Jennie" Platt.

Later life and death

Stone used the newfound wealth from his straw business for a variety of

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

causes. He furnished lodging for his female employees, including a large library, music room, meeting room, and dancing floor. In addition, he and several others built two blocks of tenement houses for African American residents of Washington, D.C. Stone died in his home in Columbia Road, Washington, D.C., on after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Marvin 19th-century American inventors 1842 births 1899 deaths People of Ohio in the American Civil War People from Portage County, Ohio Inventors from Ohio Inventors from Washington, D.C.