Inventor Name
Richardson, Earl H.
Repository
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Huntington Library
Manuscripts Dept.
1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, CA 91108
http://www.huntington.org
Physical Description
56 pages, bound typescript, 27 cm.
Summary
Earl H. Richardson was born in Wisconsin in 1871. He later moved to California where he went to work for the Ontario Electric Company in Ontario, California. Richardson invented the Hotpoint iron, and in 1906, he started his own manufacturing company called the Pacific Electric Heating Co., headquartered in Ontario. His company designed, manufactured and sold various electric appliances including irons, ovens, toasters, heating units for washing machines, and vacuum cleaners. Richardson was the first to make an iron that shut-off automatically when it became too hot. In 1918, his company merged with the Heating Device Section of General Electric Company to form the Edison Electric Appliance Co. In 1927, General Electric Company bought all of Richardson's facilities in Ontario and renamed it the General Electric Company, Ontario Factory. Richardson died in 1934. The manuscript, which was written as a tribute to Earl H. Richardson, covers the entire history of Richardson's work with electric appliances. Starting with his first invention of the Hotpoint iron and opening his own company in 1906, it continues through General Electric's purchase of the company in 1927 and his death in 1934. The author, who had worked for Richardson for over thirty years, includes details about Richardson's life, his various inventions, the company's operations and employees, the growth of the company, and the history of Ontario, California. Also included is an obituary for Earl H. Richardson. The manuscript is illustrated with photographs.