Biography:Irving Naxon
Irving Naxon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 22, 1989 (aged 87) Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Inventor, proprietor, telegraphist |
| Employer | Canadian Pacific Railway Western Electric |
Works | Slow cooker |
Irving Naxon (February 26, 1902 – September 22, 1989) was an American inventor, who is most famous for inventing and patenting the slow cooker.[1][2][3][4][5] Naxon was also the first Jewish engineer who worked for Western Electric.[1]
Personal life
Naxon was born in 1902 in Jersey City, New Jersey with the birth name Irving Nachumsohn.[1] His mother had immigrated to the United States from Lithuania.[6][7] A 1950 advertisement shows a slow cooker called the "Simmer Crock" made by the Industrial Radiant Heat Corp. of Gladstone, NJ.[8][1] His father died when he was two years old.[4] He had two siblings, an older brother – Meyer – and a younger sister – Sadie.[4] After his father's death, his family moved from Jersey City to Fargo, North Dakota, and then to Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1][4] Naxon's mother moved him and his siblings to Winnipeg so that her oldest son, Meyer, could avoid the World War I draft.[1][4] While in Canada, Naxon studied electrical engineering through a correspondence course.[1][4][5] He moved back to Chicago sometime after.[1][4] He married his wife Fern and they had three daughters, Jewel, Eileen, and Lenore.[3][4]
In 1945, he changed his name from Nachumsohn to Naxon due to anti-German sentiment after WWII.[4]
Career
After receiving his electrical engineering training, Naxon worked as a telegrapher for the Canadian Pacific Railway.[4] He later moved to Chicago and became the Western Electric’s first Jewish engineer.[1][4] He continued working on his inventions outside of work and passed the patent bar exam to avoid hiring a lawyer.[1] He founded his own company – Naxon Utilities Corporation.[1]
In 1936, Naxon applied for a patent for the slow cooker.[4][9] On January 23, 1940, he received that patent.[2][4] The first iteration of Naxon's slow cooker was The Boston Beanery and later the Naxon Beanery and Flavor Crock.[1][2][4] In 1970, Naxon retired and sold his business and his patent for the slowcooker to the Rival Company for a lump sum rather than stock.[1][4][5] Rival Company rebranded Naxon's invention into what is now known as the Crock Pot.[1]
In addition to the slow cooker, Naxon also invented several other appliances and has over 200 patents to his name.[4][5] He invented an electric frying pan and the hula lamp, a precursor to the lava lamp.[1][5] Another notable invention of Naxon is his TeleSign, an electronic sign that shows moving text resembling today's news ticker.[1][10][5]
Death
Naxon died on September 22, 1989, in an Evanston nursing home.[3] At the time, he was survived by his wife, three daughters, and five grandchildren.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Delgado, Michelle (November 26, 2019). "A Brief History of the Crock Pot" (in en). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-crock-pot-180973643/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ehrenfreund, Max (January 23, 2015). "The unfulfilled promise of the Crock-Pot, an unlikely symbol of women's equality" (in en-US). Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/01/23/the-unfulfilled-promise-of-the-crock-pot-an-unlikely-symbol-of-womens-equality/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "IRVING NAXON". September 25, 1989. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-09-25-8901150921-story.html.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 Ingall, Marjorie (August 3, 2017). "Meet the Jewish Inventor of the Slow Cooker". https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/jewish-inventor-of-slow-cooker-irving-naxon.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Wall, Alix (May 24, 2013). "The Organic Epicure | Its no crock: S.F. womans father was an inventor extraordinaire" (in en-US). https://jweekly.com/2013/05/24/the-organic-epicure-its-no-crock-s-f-womans-father-was-an-inventor-extraor/.
- ↑ Delgado, Michelle (26 November 2019). "A Brief History of the Crock Pot". https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-crock-pot-180973643/.
- ↑ Pilkington, Katie (January 31, 2014). "From humble to high tech, a slow cooker history". CNET. https://www.cnet.com/news/from-humble-to-high-tech-a-slow-cooker-history/.
- ↑ The Rotarian. April 1950. p. 2. https://books.google.com/books?id=IkYEAAAAMBAJ&q=industrial+radiant+heat+corp.+Gladstone+NJ&pg=PA2. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
- ↑ Pilkington, Katie. "From humble to high tech, a slow cooker history" (in en). https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/from-humble-to-high-tech-a-slow-cooker-history/.
- ↑ Nachumsohn, Irving, "Sign", US patent 2006999, published 1935-07-02
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