Anthony Bajada
Born
Anthony Dominic Bajada

(1902-09-22)September 22, 1902
Hamrun, Malta, British Empire
DiedJuly 20, 2000(2000-07-20) (aged 97)
Menlo Park, California, United States
NationalityAmerican, British
Known forInventor of the stay-tab for beverage cans
Spouse
Elizabeth Julia Waldvogel
​
​
(m. 1925; died 2001)​
Children
  • Evelyn Elizabeth
  • George Anthony
Relatives
Military career
AllegianceBritish Empire
BranchBritish Army
Battles/warsWorld War I

Anthony Dominic Bajada (September 22, 1902 – July 20, 2000) was a British–American[4][5] inventor known for creating and patenting the stay-tab press-to-open lid mechanism for drink cans.[6]

Early life and career

Anthony Bajada was born on September 22, 1902, in Hamrun, Malta,[7] a colony of the British Empire[8] to Sevario[9] and Carmela[10] Bajada.

After serving in the British Army in World War I,[11] at 17 years old he moved to the United States, traveling aboard the White Star Line's RMS Olympic[12] on the Southampton to New York City route by way of Cherbourg, France. He arrived in New York City exactly one week before his 18th birthday in 1920, where he boarded the transcontinental railroad bound for San Francisco.

He married Elizabeth Waldvogal (b. 1905, d. 2001) in 1925 in San Francisco[13] and had two children, Evelyn (b. 1928, d. 2010)[14] and George (b. 1935).[7] He moved to Palo Alto in 1961 and to Menlo Park in 1968.

Early in his career he worked as a machinist,[4][5] making tools and dies[15] until he later became a property investor in 1948.[16]

Invention of the opening mechanism on drink cans

Patent Application for "Lid closure for can containers"
Patent Application for "Lid closure for can containers"

In 1956, Anthony filed for a patent titled "Lid closure for can containers," which described a mechanism for opening canned containers with a "press-it" type closure that pushed inwardly into the can to permit the contents to be poured. The patent was granted in 1958.[17]

Prior to Bajada’s invention, it was necessary to either use a separate opening device such as a can opener or to use a pull tab mechanism.[18] The use of a detached can-opener proved cumbersome, as without the tool the can could not be opened and the pull tab design was dangerous as the detached tab could be ingested and was not easy to see in an x-ray.[19]

One of the novel aspects of Bajada's design is that the can's opening mechanism is self-contained on the can's lid, eliminating the need to use any additional devices to open the can.[17]

At the time, Bajada marveled that "the advantages of his invention would become apparent" upon seeing the design; a statement that proved true. Within two months of Bajada's patent expiry, inventor Ermal C. Fraze and the Reynolds Metals Company filed patents on designs for a “pull tab" mechanism for soda cans.[20][21] Subsequently, during volume manufacturing, companies such as Crown Cork & Seal Company,[22] BHP[23][24] and United States Steel Corporation[25] began making lid mechanisms based on Bajada’s design.

Later years and death

Anthony Bajada remained a resident of Menlo Park[15] until his death on July 20, 2000.[26] He was survived by his wife, his two children, his 6 grandchildren, and his 15 great-grandchildren[27] (including Jake Chasan).[28][29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fred Chasan was the father of Anthony's granddaughter Cynthia’s husband, Jeffrey as referenced by "Esperanza para tumores celebrales" (translated to English as "Hope for brain tumors"). The Star-News (in Spanish). August 5, 1995. p. 7. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ Roslyn Chasan was the mother of Anthony's granddaughter Cynthia’s husband, Jeffrey as referenced by "Esperanza para tumores celebrales" (translated to English as "Hope for brain tumors"). The Star-News (in Spanish). August 5, 1995. p. 7. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Haute to Trot, Opening Day". Rancho Santa Fe Review. July 18, 2013. p. 26. Retrieved February 19, 2022. Mark Chasan is brother of Jeff Chasan, who is married to Cynthia Chasan (née Bajada), who is the granddaughter of Anthony Bajada.
  4. 1 2 "Petition for Naturalization". United States Department of Labor, Immigration Service. No. 52781. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Declaration of Intention". United States Department of Labor, Immigration Service. No. 98907. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  6. ↑ Office, United States Patent (1958). Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. U.S. Department of Commerce.
  7. 1 2 "U.S. Census", United States census, 1940; San Francisco, CA; page Sheet 4A, line 9. Retrieved on 2023-02-02.
  8. ↑ "Malta – Countries – Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Arriving Passenger and Crew List in New York of S.S. Kaiser Franz Joesph I". United States Department of Labor, Immigration Service. March 31, 1914. p. 98. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Arriving Passenger and Crew List in Massachusetts of S.S. Cretic". United States Department of Labor, Immigration Service. July 28, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Maltese contributions to Allied war efforts in 1916". Times of Malta. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Arriving Passenger and Crew List in New York of R.M.S. Olympic". United States Department of Labor, Immigration Service. C.10. September 15, 1920. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Elizabeth Julia Bajada". SFGATE. January 21, 2001. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Evelyn McCarthy Obituary (2010) – Scottsdale, Az, CA – San Francisco Chronicle". San Francisco Chronicle. May 16, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Anthony Dominic Bajada". The Almanac (Menlo Park). August 2, 2000. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Bajadas celebrate 50th anniversary". Peninsula Times Tribune. September 16, 1975. p. 12. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  17. 1 2 US 2842295, Anthony, Bajada, "Lid closure for can containers", published 1958-07-08
  18. ↑ Vanderbilt, Tom (September 24, 2012). "The Brilliant Redesign of the Soda Can Tab". Slate Magazine. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  19. ↑ Burrington, J. D. (June 14, 1976). "Aluminum "pop tops". A hazard to child health". JAMA. 235 (24): 2614–2617. doi:10.1001/jama.1976.03260500030022. ISSN 0098-7484. PMID 946866.
  20. ↑ US 4030631, Brown, Omar L., "Easy-open ecology end", published 1977-06-21, assigned to Ermal C. Fraze
  21. ↑ US design D244915S, Cudzik, Daniel F., "End closure for a container", published 1977-07-05, assigned to Reynolds Metals Company
  22. ↑ US 4024980, Kneusel, Raymond H. P. & Potts, Vinson S., "Easy opening can end having a closure plug", published 1977-05-24, assigned to Crown Cork & Seal Company
  23. ↑ US 3759206, Dalli, Allen George; Debenham, Michael & Schackleford, Ralph Edward, "Push-in easy-opening closures", published 1973-09-18, assigned to BHP
  24. ↑ US RE28910E, Dalli, Allen George; Debenham, Michael & Schackleford, Ralph Edward, "Push-in easy-opening closures", published 1976-07-20, assigned to BHP
  25. ↑ As cited by the United States Patent & Trademark Office examiner in the patents of Crown Cork & Seal, BHP, and United States Steel Corporation.
  26. ↑ "Arizona Republic 24 Jul 2000, page Page 14". Arizona Republic. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Anthony Bajada". The San Francisco Examiner. July 25, 2000. p. 17. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Elizabeth Bajada". SFGATE. January 21, 2001. Retrieved February 2, 2023. Jake is noted as "Jacob" in this article.
  29. ↑ "Mildred Wallace-Smith". Press Democrat. July 8, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2023. Cynthia Chasan, granddaughter of Anthony Bajada, is married to Jeffery Chasan, parents of Jake Chasan.
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