NBIM Celebrates Black Innovators: The Kitchen Inventions That Shaped New Britain’s Industries
Connecticut boasts its fair share of inventors, but did you know that many of the products that were produced in New Britain’s factories were invented by Black Americans? These innovators may not have lived in Connecticut, but they still made an impact on New Britain’s industrial legacy. You may even have the modern versions of some of these things in your home! Black inventors have helped to shape our lives and our factories, and here are just a few examples of their contributions.
Some of you may be familiar with Taplin Manufacturing Co, who made hand held egg beaters used all over the United States. Taplin produced egg beaters that became incredibly popular, and their improved design reduced the chore of beating egg whites from an exhausting effort to a five-minute breeze! The person responsible for this improvement to mechanical egg beater design was Willis Johnson of Cincinnati, Ohio, who patented and improved the mechanical egg beater (U.S. Patent #292,821) on February 5, 1884. This patent was actually intended not just for eggs, but for batters and confections of all kinds! It was the predecessor of the modern electric mixer, later produced by another New Britain company: Landers, Frary & Clark under their Universal trademark.
Speaking of Universal-- both the refrigerator and oil stove were improved significantly by inventor John Stanard. His use of cold-air ducts was the first iteration of the manually-cooled refrigerator, which he patented in 1891. (U.S. Patent #455,891) This design allowed cool air to circulate throughout the unit without needing to open the doors to the ice-chamber when retrieving food from within, as well as a revolutionary cold-water tap! This design was a direct predecessor of the refrigerators later produced by Landers, Frary, & Clark and was the first instance of the “fridge-freezer” combination appliance.
Even more notably, Standard created the oil stove that we still use today: the small, portable device used in chafing dishes and in train cars. Standard’s oil stove (U.S. Patent #413,689) was more complex than the chafing dishes we are used to seeing, in that it has attachments for different methods of cooking, including chambers for broiling and baking, and a platform for frying and boiling. You can see examples of a simplified version of his invention in the Universal portable alcohol stoves.
All of these inventions are things we still use today in their modern forms, and we wouldn’t have them without the contributions of Black Americans. Next time you use your refrigerator or electric mixer, take a moment to reflect on their origins!
