Important Information on the Electric Iron Invention

The invention of the electric iron meant the unpopular household task for which it was designed could be completed in less time.

The electric iron was invented in the late 19th century by New Yorker Henry Seely. He was not the first person to come up with the idea, but he was the first to produce a workable design which was patented in 1882.

Development

Seely and his business partner, Richard Dyer, went on to develop the concept further. Both felt users would find keeping the iron plugged in to the electricity supply inconvenient, so they designed a cordless iron which was warmed on a stand powered by electricity.

Demand

A major step in the development of the electric iron was taken in 1905 when a model designed by Earl Richardson, a meter reader with the Ontario (California) Power Co., was placed on the market. This iron concentrated heat at the forward point of its soleplate (the hot point), which made it easier to iron the area around buttons and pleats. It became the first commercially successful electric iron and marked the birth of the Hotpoint brand.

Popularity

By 1910, Paul Severing, writing in his book "Marvels of Modern Science," reported a "growing demand in all parts of the USA for these electric flat irons,"

This demand really took off during the next two decades as homes across the country were connected to the electricity supply. By 1941, 79 percent of all American households were in possession of an electric iron.

References

• Old and Interesting: Invention of Electric Iron
• IDSA: Details of Original Hotpoint Iron