History - Inventions and discoveries - Can openers - Canned food - United States - History of inventions
Which American inventor patented one of the first can openers specifically designed for opening cans in 1858?
Correct!
The American inventor Ezra J. Warner from Waterbury, Connecticut received US Patent No. 19,063 on January 5, 1858 for an “Instrument for Opening Cans”. Its design featured a pointed blade for piercing the lid and a curved cutting mechanism that was then used to cut along the edge. What's particularly strange is that tin cans had already been around for decades at this point. Peter Durand had already patented a process for food containers made of tin-plated metal in 1810. However, earlier cans were so thick-walled that they could be opened with a hammer and chisel, for example. Warner's can opener was still pretty martial and sometimes left sharp edges. Nevertheless, it was used, among others, by the US Army during the American Civil War and was also used in grocery stores. Warner's design was probably not the first can opener in the world: the Englishman Robert Yeates had already patented a special can opener in 1855. That's why the quiz question is deliberately tailored to Warner's American patent from 1858. William Lyman later developed a much more convenient can opener with a rotating cutting wheel in 1870 - an important step towards today's models.
In 1858, Ezra J. Warner patented one of the first can openers designed specifically for opening cans.
