Josephine Garis was born in Ohio in 1839, the daughter of a
civil engineer. She married William Cochran in Illinois in 1858. William sought
his fortune in the California gold rush, but found it as a dry goods merchant
and Democratic party politician. The Cochrans quickly became very well-to-do.
They added an E to the end of their name, moved into a mansion and joined Chicago’s
high society. After she threw a dinner party, Josephine was horrified to find
her servants had chipped her porcelain while washing it. There were two
hand-operated dishwashers on the market then (both invented by men) but they
wet the dishes without getting them clean. Josephine proclaimed, “If nobody
else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself.” Her creation
debuted at Chicago’s World Colombian Exposition in 1893. The Cochranes founded
the Crescent Washing Machine Company, which later became Kitchen Aid.
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