John Standard
*John Standard was born on this date in 1868. He was a Black inventor.
From Newark, New Jersey, there is little known about his early life other than that he was born to Mary and Joseph Standard.
Standard's improvements to kitchen appliances eventually led to more innovations in refrigerator and stove designs that would change how people around the world stored and cooked their food. Throughout his career, Standard defied the racial norms of his time by delving into scientific pursuits of research into cooling devices and stove constructions. This pursuit was usually very limited to the Black community.
In his patent for the refrigerator, Standard declared, "this invention relates to improvements in refrigerators, and it consisted of certain novel arrangements and combinations of parts."
John Standard said that he had found a way to improve the design of refrigerators to a non-electrical and unpowered design; Standard's refrigerator made in 1891 used a manually filled ice chamber for chilling and was granted a patent on June 14, 1891 (U.S. Patent Number 455,891). A few years later, Standard continued working on innovations to improve the home kitchen, and his 1889 oil stove was a space-saving design that he suggested could be used for buffet-style meals on trains. Who patented improvements while overcoming racial division in the United States.
Standard helped revolutionize the modern kitchen and was granted intellectual property rights to two patents throughout his lifetime. He received U.S. Patent Number 413,689 for this improvement on the standard stovetop on October 29, 1889. John Standard died in 1900.
