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Josephine Cochran

Dishwasher

• Josephine Cochran invented a dishwashing machine as an improvement to Joel Houghton's patented wooden machine with a hand-turned wheel that splashed water on dishes.
• Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher and got a patent for it in 1886.

• Cochran's machine was a hand-operated mechanical dishwasher.

• She founded a company to manufacture these dish washers, which eventually became KitchenAid. 

• It was not until the 1950s that dishwashers caught on with the general public.