Irving Naxon
Born(1902-02-26)February 26, 1902
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedSeptember 22, 1989(1989-09-22) (aged 87)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)Inventor, proprietor, telegraphist
Employer(s)Canadian Pacific Railway
Western Electric
WorksSlow 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Delgado, Michelle (November 26, 2019). "A Brief History of the Crock Pot". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Ehrenfreund, Max (January 23, 2015). "The unfulfilled promise of the Crock-Pot, an unlikely symbol of women's equality". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "IRVING NAXON". Chicago Tribune. September 25, 1989. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Ingall, Marjorie (August 3, 2017). "Meet the Jewish Inventor of the Slow Cooker". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wall, Alix (May 24, 2013). "The Organic Epicure | Its no crock: S.F. womans father was an inventor extraordinaire". J. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ Delgado, Michelle (November 26, 2019). "A Brief History of the Crock Pot". Smithsonian. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  7. ↑ Pilkington, Katie (January 31, 2014). "From humble to high tech, a slow cooker history". CNET. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ The Rotarian. April 1950. p. 2. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  9. ↑ Pilkington, Katie. "From humble to high tech, a slow cooker history". CNET. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  10. ↑ US 2006999, Nachumsohn, Irving, "Sign", published 1935-07-02
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