Charles Strite

Full Name: Charles P. Strite
Profession: Inventor

Nationality:

Biography: Invented the automatic pop-up toaster we know and love today.

Strite's toaster heated both sides of a slice of bread at the same time, included a timer that turned off the electricity when finished and a spring that popped up the toast when the electricity turned off. All unique advances at the time.

In 1921, Strite received U.S. patent #1,394,450 for the device, he named the "Toastmaster" and set up the Waters Genter company to manufacture and market it. In 1926 the company began selling the Toastmaster model 1-A-1, the first automatic pop-up toaster made for home use.

The company was a success and was further boosted by Otto Frederick Rohwedder's invention of the bread slicing machine in 1928. Toasters became extremely popular, selling 1 million units annually by 1930.

Born: February 27, 1878
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Star Sign: Pisces

Died: October 18, 1956 (aged 78)