Josephine Garis Cochran
Josephine Garis Cochran was an innovative American inventor born in 1839 in Ohio. She is best known for creating the first commercially successful dishwasher, inspired by her frustration with the way her servants handled her delicate china. After experimenting in a workshop behind her house, she developed a machine that used water pressure to clean dishes, avoiding the damage often caused by manual washing. Cochran received a patent for her invention in 1886, and she began selling her dishwashers primarily to hotels and restaurants, achieving significant success after showcasing her product at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Cochran's dishwashing machine not only revolutionized the kitchen but also significantly reduced the need for large kitchen staff in commercial settings. Despite lacking formal engineering training, she demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit by actively marketing her machines across the country. Her invention laid the groundwork for modern dishwashers, which have since become common household appliances. Cochran continued to improve her designs until her passing in 1913, and her legacy endures in the form of the efficient dishwashing systems widely used today.
Josephine Garis Cochran
American engineer
- Born: March 8, 1839
- Birthplace: Ashtabula county, Ohio
- Died: August 3, 1913
- Place of death: Chicago, Illinois
Cochran patented the dishwasher that provided the basic design for the modern dishwasher. She also opened her own manufacturing facility, Cochran’s Crescent Washing Machine Company, which later became KitchenAid.
Primary field: Household products
Primary invention: Dishwasher
Early Life
Josephine Garis Cochran (KAHK-rehn) was born to Irene Fitch and John Garis in the spring of 1839 in Ashtabula County, Ohio (some sources say Valparaiso, Indiana). Her family involvement with engineering was influential to her education when she was young. Her maternal grandfather (possibly her great-grandfather), John Fitch, patented what is reportedly the first steamboat in 1791. Her father served as an engineer consultant who worked in both Ohio and Indiana supervising saw and textile mills along the Ohio River. He took the young Josephine with him during some of his travels, influencing her views of manufacturing facilities and engineering. John Garis is also credited with inventing a hydraulic pump system that drained marshes, an invention that probably led to a later consulting job on the building of Chicago in the 1850’s.
When Josephine’s private Indiana high school burned down, she moved to central Illinois to live with a sister. There, she met William A. Cochran, a local civil servant, and married him on October 13, 1858, at the age of nineteen. Reports say that she added an e to “Cochran” after his death in 1883. They had one child, a son named Hallie, who died at the age of two. The Cochrans were founding members of the First Congregational Church in Shelbyville, Indiana. During the last years of his life, William Cochran was ill and in debt—factors that contributed to Josephine Garis Cochran’s push to finish her invention, the dishwasher.
Life’s Work
Cochran’s decision to invent a dishwashing machine was reportedly influenced by her irritation with the way her servants were handling her heirloom china. Observing chips and breaks in dishes that had been passed down since the 1600’s, she began washing the dishes herself. Since she detested this job, she decided to invent a machine to do the work for her. Testing ideas for the machine, she streamed water over the dishes in the sink to see how clean the dishes would become.
As her idea progressed, she turned the woodshed behind her house into a workshop. George Butters, a mechanic for the Illinois Central Railroad, became her assistant in the design and building of her project. One of her goals in designing the early dishwashing machine was to avoid power-driven, motorized brushing of the dishes. They started with a washtub construction that would contain the dishes and keep the soap and water from spraying all over the kitchen. As a result, a copper boiler became the central piece to the new machine. The boiler was built into a large frame, and racks were placed inside to hold the dishes. Reports vary on whether the racks were made of wood or wire, with wire being the predominantly accepted material, at least for the later models. The early model, made with wooden racks, worked with a hand pump that sprayed hot water and soap against the dishes that were set into the individual racks.
Cochran applied for a patent and was awarded one on December 28, 1886. Her machine was officially called the Garis-Cochran Dishwasher (also known as the Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine). The idea of a dishwashing machine was not new; a hand-cranked wooden machine had been patented by Joel Houghton in 1850. Other inventors had applied for patents as well, but whereas their models were based on the motorized scrubbing of the dishes, Cochran’s used a water pressure wash.
Cochran’s first models after the patent were manufactured by local machine shops and sold for between $100 and $150 apiece. The size and price were prohibitive to home owners, so Cochran sold them to hotels and institutions. Her first sale was to the Palmer House, a prestigious Chicago hotel. She later sold to the Sherman House, another upscale Chicago hotel, as well as other large businesses. The dishwashing machine was under almost constant revision; Cochran worked to make it more efficient and more marketable. To reach the home market, she advertised the dishwasher as a good place to store dirty dishes, hiding them from sight. Then, in 1888, she sold a machine that reportedly was able to wash 120 dishes per minute.
In 1889, Cochran opened her own manufacturing facility, which she called Cochran’s Crescent Washing Machine Company. Her early assistant, George Butters, became the foreman, and three other employees were hired to build the commercial washers. The company made several models and sizes. One model held dirty dishes in racks that were placed inside a boxlike container where hot soapy water was hand-pumped over the dishes. The operator would need to pour clean hot water afterward to rinse them. A motorized version was also manufactured. In this machine, dishes were placed in racks that moved back and forth while water sprayed up from underneath. This version was easy enough to operate by anyone. A motor was made to be connected to the side, but this required an extra purchase.
At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair) held in Chicago, Cochran made her real break into sales. While displaying her machine and marketing it herself, she loaned nine dishwashers to other businesses at the exposition. The approval was overwhelming, and she sold the same number of machines. This began her busiest time in the business.
Over the next decades, the Garis-Cochran Dishwasher evolved several times. In 1900, Cochran registered for a patent on the new model that moved dishes back and forth. There was also a version that rotated the racks of dishes and then drained into a sink. Cochran herself became quite a businesswoman, traveling around the country selling her machines. It is reported that she even traveled into her seventies. She died in 1913 at the age of seventy-four.
Impact
The Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine is the forerunner of the modern dishwasher. The pressure washing system that utilized hot water, soap, and air drying kept dishes from being damaged in the washing process. Cochran’s innovation took off at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, leading to many imitations of her machine, none of which were as good. Cochran spent the middle and later years of her life inventing, building, and selling her dishwasher to institutions that could afford and house it. Her machine was so efficient that it replaced up to three-quarters of the kitchen staff in larger restaurants and hotels.
Though lacking technical training, Cochran was an innovative woman who took a chance on building a dishwashing machine. She boldly sold her invention, going on cold calls to businesses herself and modeling it herself at the 1893 World’s Fair.
Cochran wanted to build a machine that would lessen the household workload of women, and this dream became a widespread reality after her death. By the 1940’s, Cochran’s idea had been downsized to a dishwasher that would become popular in the home. A version of this dishwasher is still manufactured and used today.
Bibliography
Casey, Susan. Women Invent: Two Centuries of Discoveries That Have Shaped Our World. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1997. This simple, straightforward book, written at a child’s reading level, traces the history of a handful of female inventors, from conception of their ideas through the actual manufacturing and sale of their products. The author also addresses general questions about inventing and patenting a product.
Fenster, J. M. “The Woman Who Invented the Dishwasher.” American Heritage of Invention and Technology 15, no. 2 (1999): 54-61. Provides a strong overview of Cochran’s life and invention. Fenster provides a detailed tracing of her life, including information on her parents and husband and their influence on her. The article also includes information on her manufacturing and sales processes.
Karwatka, Dennis. “Josephine Cochrane Invents the First Practical Dishwasher.” Tech Directions 59, no. 10 (2000): 12. Karwatka provides a brief but thorough description of Cochran’s dishwasher and how it worked. He also includes a copy of an 1895 advertisement for the machine that provides interesting, pertinent details about the machine.
Vare, Ethlie Ann, and Greg Ptacek. Patently Female. New York: Wiley, 2002. Starting with the first patent ever awarded to a woman, this book traces largely unknown female inventors. For some female inventors, the authors provide a connection to famous male figures who may have taken or received credit for the women’s concepts and works. The authors do not always provide specific dates.