Consumer Appliance Time Line

Advertisement, KitchenAid - 1926 (Private Collection) The basic science of electricity was known for many years before Thomas Edison and others put it to practical use in the late 1800s. Once Edison and his associates broke the barrier between theory and application, however, a flood of new, electric-powered appliances and labor-savers washed over the country! Eager consumers couldn't wait to purchase them.

The first third of the Twentieth Century saw the creation of many home devices, from flashlights and batteries to refrigerators and garbage disposals. Most of these inventions should be familiar to you. What might astound you, however, is how early many of them were created. Who knew that the electric doorbell has been around for nearly 200 years, or that the KitchenAid mixer is about to celebrate its ninetieth birthday!

1850-1899

1854 - First light bulb invented by Hinrich Globel

1865 - Patent for electric coffee percolator issued to James Nason

1875 - Light bulb patented by Woodward & Evans

1879 - First practical incandescent light bulb demonstrated by Thomas Edison

1880 - First electric elevator constructed

1881 - First commercially successful dry cell battery invented by Carl Gassner

1882 - Electric Christmas lights introduced by Edward Johnson

1821 - Electric iron patented by Henry Seely

1885 - Electric mixer patented by Rufus Eastman

1886 - Electric dishwasher invented by Josephine Cochrane

1821 - Electric fan invented by Schuyler Wheeler

1889 - Home electric sewing machine introduced by Singer

1890 - First electric hair dryer patented by Alexandre Godefoy

1891 - Electric stove invented by Carpenter Electric Heating Co.

1821 - Alternating current (AC) introduced in U. S.

1893 - Electric toaster invented

1896 - Electric stove first patented (not for home use)

1898 - Battery-powered flashlight invented

1899 - Rechargeable battery invented by Waldmar Jungner

1900-1909

1900 - Electric toy trains invented by Joshua Lionel Cowen

1901 - Alkaline battery invented by Thomas Edison

1901 - Electric vacuum cleaner invented by Hubert Booth

1902 - First electric air conditioner in operation in Brooklyn

1903 - First electric washing machines patented

1901 - Lightweight electric iron introduced by Earl Richardson

1901 - Flashlight patented by Conrad Hubert

1905 - First moveable vacuum cleaner invented; weighs 92 pounds; doesn't sell well

1906 - Permanent wave machine invented by Karl Nessler

1907 - Electric amplifier invented by Lee De Forest

1901 - Lightweight portable upright electric vacuum cleaner invented

1901 - by James Spangler

1908 - Electric coffee percolators first appear in American stores

1901 - Spangler's electric vacuum cleaner patented by William Henry Hoover

1901 - First electric-powered washing machine, the "Thor," introduced by Alva Fisher

1901 - Standing mixer patented by Herbert Johnson

1909 - First American-made electric toaster introduced

1910-1919

1910 - Hotpoint introduces the first electric stove

1911 - Single-beater electric mixer patented by Hamilton Beach

1910 - Waffle iron introduced by General Electric

1910 - Neon lights invented

1913 - Electric dishwasher introduced by Walker Brothers

1910 - Bissell introduces 33-pound Electric Suction Cleaner

1910 - First in-home electric refrigerator introduced by General Electric

1915 - Electric clothes dryers appear on the market

1910 - Oven thermostat developed

1910 - Nine-pound vacuum cleaner introduced by Franz

1916 - Kelvinator introduces its first electric refrigerator

1910 - First electric lawn mower introduced

1910 - First radios with tuners allowed listeners to change stations

1918 - First refrigerator with automatic controls introduced by Kelvinator

1919 - Pop-up toaster with built-in timer invented by Charles Strite

1910 - Stand mixer for the home introduced by KitchenAid

1910 - Cone-shaped Christmas lights introduced by General Electric

1920-1929

1920 - More than 200 different brands of refrigerators sold in U.S.

1931 - Airway introduces vacuum cleaner with disposable bags

1931 - First commercial radio broadcasts with regularly scheduled programming heard

1922 - Electric blender invented by Stephen Poplawski

1931 - Electric kettle introduced

1931 - Over 3 million electric irons have been sold since 1912

1931 - Radios appear in 3 million American households

1923 - Frigidaire introduces electric "self-contained" refrigerator

1931 - Cathode ray tube for television invented by Vladimir Kosma Zworykin

1924 - Air conditioners first used for human comfort rather than industrial cooling

1931 - Loudspeaker for music invented by Kellogg & Rice

1931 - Spin dryer appears on the market

1925 - Frosted light bulbs first produced

1926 - Toastmaster's pop-up toaster invented in 1919 finally goes into production

1927 - Electric in-sink garbage disposal introduced

1931 - Electric iron with temperature control introduced by Silex

1931 - Quartz-powered clock developed by Warren Marrison

1931 - Experimental fluorescent lamp patented

1931 - Monitor Top refrigerator introduced by General Electric

1931 - GE introduces first in-home television receiver

1928 - First air conditioners for home use introduced by Carrier

1931 - Electric "Mixmaster" patented by Sunbeam Corporation

1931 - Improved electric permanent wave machine patented by Marjorie Joyner

1931 - Over 45% of American homes have a radio

1929 - Electric shaver introduced by Jacob Schick

1930-1933

1930 - First plastic vacuum cleaners introduced

1931 - First television broadcasts made in U. S.

1931 - GE introduces first room air conditioning unit

1931 - 1.2 million toasters sold in America

1931 - Henry Ford presented with one millionth GE Monitor Top refrigerator

1931 - Electric can opener introduced